Loyd Grossman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Loyd Daniel Grossman | |
Born | September 16, 1950 Boston, U.S. |
---|---|
Occupation | Television presenter/Chef |
Spouse | Deborah Jane Puttnam (Divorced) |
Children | Florence and Connie |
Loyd Daniel Gilman Grossman OBE, FSA (born September 16, 1950) is an Anglo-American television presenter and chef who mainly works in the UK.
Grossman was born in Boston, MA, US. He graduated from Boston University (B.A. History) before coming to the United Kingdom in 1975 to study at the London School of Economics (M.Sc.Econ), where he is currently a member of the Council and the Court of Governors. On 9 November 2007, he became an Honorary Graduand of the University of Chester where he was presented for admission to the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.
After appearing as an extra in the Grease film and a short-lived career as a singer with punk band Jet Bronx And The Forbidden, who reached number 49 in the UK singles chart in December 1977 with "Ain't Doin' Nothing", he went on to become a journalist for Harpers & Queen and The Sunday Times. He has since presented Masterchef, a competitive cooking programme, and Through the Keyhole, a programme examining the homes of public figures as well as playing The Narrator on a British tour of The Rocky Horror Show. In 2000 he was appointed to head the £40 million project to improve the quality of food served in British NHS hospitals and visited the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in December 2002 to raise awareness of the Better Hospital Foods project. [1][citation needed]
His transatlantic accent reflects his Boston origins as well as the many years he has spent in the UK. It sounds strange to many British people, as well as Americans, and is often the subject of parody.[1]
Grossman is also involved in charity work. He is particularly associated with the work of museums in the UK, being chairman of the Blue Plaques Panel, the Churches Conservation Trust, the Campaign for Museums, the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, National Museums Liverpool, the vice-chair of the Liverpool Culture Company and a trustee of St Deiniol's Library. In 2007 he was appointed Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[2]
His name has been lent to a number of cookery goods, particularly pasta and curry sauces, manufactured by Premier Foods. As a brand, he is said to be worth many millions of pounds.[citation needed]
An advertisement campaign for his range of sauces debuted in the UK in April 2008.[3]
Following a guest appearance playing "Ain't Doin Nothin" with the Pork Dukes at the Vienna Rebellion punk festival on 27th April 2008, he will be playing with his new band Jet Bronx and the New Forbidden at the 2008 Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, UK.[4]
[edit] References
- Stecklow, Steve. "That's just so, like, totally... spiffing", The Guardian, 2003-10-04. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.