Marco Pierre White

Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is an English chef, restaurateur and television personality. In 1995, White became the first British chef and, at age 33, the youngest chef, to earn three Michelin stars. He has trained chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Mario Batali, Shannon Bennett, Curtis Stone, Phil Howard and Stephen Terry. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the enfant terrible of the British restaurant scene.

Early life

Marco Pierre White was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 11 December 1961, the third of four sons to Maria-Rosa Gallina, an Italian immigrant from Veneto, and Frank White, a chef. When Marco was six his mother died from a cerebral haemorrhage caused by complications from the birth of his younger brother. He left Allerton High School in Leeds without any qualifications and decided to train as a chef like his father. White realised he is dyslexic when his son was diagnosed by his school. He recalled feeling humiliated when other children laughed when he was called on to read aloud in school. White said in 2012 that he "was very fortunate that I entered a world where I didn't have to read or write. I entered a world of cooking where I expressed with my fingers and so that built my confidence. Over the years I've taught myself how to read. I've taught myself how to spell."