John Burton Race - Biography

Biography

John Burton Race, Official website successful Michelin Star chef, television personality, restaurateur and sometimes controversial media personality was born in Singapore in 1957 to a British diplomat father and spent his formative years travelling the globe, experiencing a multitude of cuisines. His earliest memories of cooking involve watching and helping the family Chef which is where he discovered both his innate talent and profound passion for food and cooking. He came up through the ranks of kitchen life, learning and honing his craft for many years starting as an apprentice at the Wessex Hotel in Winchester and working his way through the tough hierarchy of a kitchen brigade at restaurants such as Quaglino’s - Hotel Meurice London, Chewton Glen, La Sorbonne Oxford (1*Michelin) ending up at one the true edifices of Michelin cuisine in 1983 under the wing of super chef Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons where he was promoted to Sous Chef. When Raymond wanted to open another restaurant in Oxford, Le Petit Blanc he turned to JBR to head both the restaurant and the kitchen and it was here that he won his first Michelin Star.

In 1986 he fulfilled his lifelong dream of opening his own restaurant, L’Ortolan in Berkshire where he achieved his own two Michelin Stars and then went on to mirror this achievement in 2000 at JBR Restaurant at the Landmark Hotel. In 2002 John moved to France for a year to relearn and discover ingredients and his love of cooking after many years in the fast lane, it was time to take a step back, spend time with his wife and family and reconnect with a slower pace of life, Channel 4 jumped at the opportunity of a TV show based around his sabbatical which inspired the hugely successful television show "French Leave" which made John and his family a household names. After a year of living and breathing all things French and much inspired by all he had seen and learnt, John moved to Devon in 2004 and opened "The New Angel" in Dartmouth, Devon which was awarded a Michelin Star in 2005 and retained it until his departure in 2010.

Since leaving the New Angel, John has joined Unitas his new management team official website and is currently consulting for ‘The Sanctum on the Green’ in Berkshire and My Dining Room in Fulham and he was heading the celebrity kitchen at ‘Grand Design Live in 2011.The production staff later said, He was a great bloke. John’s media and television career was secured when he entered the jungle as a contestant in I’m Celebrity Get Me Out Here, a controversial but highly watchable figure where he will best be remembered for his cool calm demeanour whilst eating various ‘sushi’ delicacies such as crocodile tongue, fish eyes and dried crocodile penis. JBR is now a household name and almost constantly on television in shows such as Market Kitchen, Daily Cooks Challenge, Kitchen Criminals, Britain’s Best Dish and Country House Cooking. John is filming the new series of ‘Best Dish – The Chefs’ and the programme will go Live, ITV 1, on 31 October leading to the Final on Christmas Eve. The show will be on every weekday (Monday to Friday), with TV coverage of more than 45hrs

Since leaving the New Angel, John has joined Unitas his new management team (Unitas-uk.com). John is currently launching a global restaurant business with his business partners and Unitas (The Restaurant Experience) and has recently joined Adams Foods as Brand Ambassador and Executive Development Chef for Kerrygold and Pilgrims Choice.