Graham Kerr - Biography

Biography

Kerr was born in London, and his parents were established hoteliers. As a result, much of his childhood was spent among some of the most outstanding chefs of Europe. Educated at the independent school Brighton College, he became trainee manager at the Roebuck Hotel in East Sussex, England, when he was just fifteen years old. After five years in the British Army as catering adviser, Graham became General Manager of England's Royal Ascot Hotel.

Kerr moved to New Zealand in 1958, becoming chief chef catering adviser for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It was there that his media career began in the early 1960s: his recipes were delivered on radio and in magazines, and a related book, Entertaining with Kerr, sold out its first edition in eight days. He moved into television with the emergence of the new medium in New Zealand, after being recruited by NZBC producer Shirley Maddock.

Later The Galloping Gourmet (1969-71), a show named for Kerr's onscreen persona, was taped in Ottawa at CJOH-TV and produced by his wife Treena Kerr. The origin of his 'Galloping Gourmet' persona stemmed from a 1967 book he co-authored with wine expert Len Evans, The Galloping Gourmets. The nickname was the result of a 35-day worldwide trek to the finest restaurants around the globe. The title was echoed in the opening of each episode of his original North American series, filmed in front of a live audience, where Kerr entered the stage area by running in and leaping over a chair in the dining room set.

The series was known for its lighthearted humour, tomfoolery and the copious use of clarified butter, cream and fat. Indeed, Kerr's most famous line on the show might have been his response to someone's criticism of his cooking: "Madame, you could go outside and get run over by a bus and just think what you would have missed!" He also liberally featured wine, serving it with most meals, drinking it while cooking, using it in his dishes, and waxing poetic about its virtues. In an ongoing feature of the show, Kerr would make his way into the audience as the closing credits began and select an audience member (usually female) whom he would invite onstage with him to enjoy whatever dish he had just prepared. During The Galloping Gourmet's successful run, he became a worldwide sensation, wrote an abundance of cookbooks, and earned two Emmy Award nominations.

In 1972, Kerr was making guest appearances on Monitor, a NBC radio variety program.

While The Galloping Gourmet first aired in 1969 and ended in 1971, some near tragedies caused Kerr to suspend his television career ending the show. In April 1971, Kerr and his wife Treena were involved in a car accident in California. As a result of the accident he suffered a dislocated spine and a weakened right arm. As therapy Kerr had to wear a one-pound bracelet in order to strengthen the weakened arm. Then in January 1972 Treena was at first diagnosed with lung cancer and given a year to live. That diagnosis turned out to be incorrect. It was determined she had tuberculosis and part of her lungs had to be removed. She later fully recovered.

Kerr returned to television in 1974 with a daily, syndicated five-minute series, Take Kerr which featured a particular recipe for each show. This programme only lasted one series, and was controversial for a time, due to an inclusion of a passage from the Bible in the closing credits, since Kerr became a Christian following his accident. This series was later repeated on CNN during its first year or so on the air.

After his wife Treena's stroke, then heart attack in 1986, Kerr was prompted to create a new style of cooking that he dubbed "Minimax". This new method of food preparation minimised ("Mini-") fat and cholesterol, while it maximised ("-max") aroma, colour, texture and taste. Minimax led to the eponymous Graham Kerr show, originally produced at KING-TV in Seattle in 1990 and 1991 and later syndicated to local stations and, later, the Discovery Channel. Minimax also led to three successful cookbooks: Graham Kerr's Smart Cooking Graham Kerr's Minimax Cookbook and Graham Kerr's Creative Choices (A Minimax Book) along with corresponding series in syndication, on Public Television. In 1995, he appeared in a PBS special with Julia Child called Cooking in Concert: Julia Child & Graham Kerr.

In 1996, Kerr, in his book of that year called Swiftly Seasoned, created the concept of a "Moulded Ethnic Vegetable", a baked combination of starches and vegetables seasoned with flavours characteristic of different ethnic cuisines. The "MEV", as he referred to it in recipes, was intended to remedy what he perceived as a lack of focus in vegetarian meals; according to Kerr, while omnivorous cuisine generally has a central focus in a meat dish, vegetarian plates are often little more than collections of side dishes, and the MEV was an attempt to provide a central focus for such meals. The MEV was not a widely successful concept and a business venture to manufacture and sell a muffin tin-like MEV baking pan was not successful. (While generally intended to be vegetarian, Kerr did incorporate meats into some MEV recipes in later books.)

Since the late-1990s, Graham Kerr was also seen in a series of radio and television features for the National Cancer Institute's 5 A Day program, called Do Yourself A Flavor, which emphasizes the use of fruits and vegetables in recipes. Meanwhile, Kerr's earlier series, including The Galloping Gourmet, has aired in the US on Food Network and Cooking Channel.

In 2003, Graham Kerr received an honorary doctorate for culinary arts and nutrition from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

He works directly with Bastyr University and many businesses looking for innovation, better-health and good taste.

Kerr currently lives with his wife in Mount Vernon, Washington, where he has been a resident for several years.