ABOUT BARRY

Barry is a renowned chef, tv & radio presenter. His desire is to bring his passion for food lifestyle alive. With his Italian background, Barry was born and raised in Sheffield in a family which had a true love and passion in food and cooking, so from a young age Barry learned not only to enjoy food but to experiment, create and discover. Barry gained his classical training by staying true to his roots and studying in Sheffield. This was followed by experience in France and London and Barry’s culinary journey has taken him across the world including Canada, South Africa, Australia and the UK, heading up 5 Star Hotels & Michelin starred restaurants. His style is to create perfection, and perfection is what he creates.

From an early age, food has played a pivotal role in my life. Raised in a family of food lovers hailing from Italy, and owning a pub, a café and an Italian ice-cream factory in Sheffield, meant that I was surrounded by a variety of great food that was prepared and served with love and passion. My family’s adoration of travelling meant that I was encouraged to sample local food, and summer holidays became a wonderful and diverse culinary experience each year.

I knew that I wanted to be a chef since my early teenage years; my experience of being around food, coupled with growing fruit and vegetables with my grandparents, and being exposed to global cuisines and tales of food, family and friendships cemented that.

It occurred to me that food was not only functional, but was something that evokes memories, brings people together, builds relationships and provides adventure. This is an aspect of food that I am passionate about reigniting in the masses; not only do we often get stuck in a cycle of cooking the same recipes in the same way for weeks and months on end, but the joy of cooking has been lost. Why is it that we only dust off the BBQ and enjoy the taste of charcoal tinged meat in the summer months?

I want my love and passion for friends, family and great food to inspire others. After being classically French trained at Granville college in Sheffield, I have embarked on a culinary career that has taken me to Canada, Morocco, Australia, Syria, India, France and South Africa. I have run Michelin star kitchens and cooked for royalty, prime ministers, presidents and A-list celebrities, as well as being part of television series and writing cook books.

Throughout my 30-year career and travels, meat has been a key part of my experiences. With each country I visited, I’ve discovered unconventional methods of cooking, new flavours and developed a respect and adoration for meat. Meat has so much history through all life and is so deeply ingrained in worldwide cultures, each with its own story to tell and unique way of preparing and serving dishes and delicacies, it’s hard not to get excited about the adventure that comes with cooking and sharing the food and tales with loved one.

I want to share my experiences, recipes and love of food with the masses and inspire people of all ages to explore and adopt new ways of cooking and enjoying food that doesn’t depend on traditional utensils or our questionable British weather.