Marco Pierre White

After leaving school in Leeds without qualifications, Marco Pierre White decided to train as a chef. He began his training in the kitchen at the Hotel St George in Harrogate and later at the Box Tree in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Arriving in London as a 16-year-old with – in his words – "£7.36, a box of books and a bag of clothes" he began his classical training as a commis under Albert Roux and Michel Roux at Le Gavroche. At 24, he became head chef and joint owner of Harveys, with a kitchen staff that included the young Gordon Ramsay. By the age of 33, Marco Pierre White had risen to become one of the food élite – the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. During these years, he had working under him some of the the food world’s greatest rising stars, including Heston Blumenthal, Robert Reid, Thierry Busset, Jason Atherton and James Stocks. In front of house, they included Max (Mark) Palmer, one of the few English maître d' of a Michelin 3-star restaurant, Claude Douart, Philippe Messy (the youngest sommelier to gain three Michelin stars) and Chris Jones, unusual in being an English sommelier in a 2-star Michelin French restaurant at the age of 21.