Allegra McEvedy

Allegra McEvedy

Contributions

Biography

Allegra McEvedy is a Chef, Writer And Broadcaster who completed her classical French Cookery Training at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, England .

She has been cooking professionally for 30 years, starting her career by working in some of London’s best restaurants as well as an eighteen-month spell on the East and West coasts of the United States. Over that time, she developed the philosophy that she continues to live and work by that there are more ways for a chef to make a difference than by winning Michelin stars, and good food should be available to everybody. In 2004, Allegra co-founded LEON, the award-winning, healthy, fast-food restaurant group, which opened its first outlet in Carnaby Street, Soho. Six months after opening, LEON was named the “Best New Restaurant in Great Britain” at the Observer Food Monthly Awards, and in 2008 it won the Palme d’Or for the Best Restaurant Concept in Europe.

In her broadcasting career, Allegra co-presented Economy Gastronomy, a six-part BBC2 prime-time series about planning ahead, shopping well, spending less and using ingredients wisely.She was one of the judges on CBBC’s Junior Bake Off, also co-hosting Step Up to The Plate, teaching children aged 11-14 with aspirations in the hospitality industry how to run a restaurant.

She has worked extensively with Good Food Channel, culminating in presenting Allegra’s Turkish Delights and Matt and Allegra’s Big Farm.

She enjoys radio, contributing regularly to BBC Radio 4 (Loose Ends, The Today Programme, Women’s Hour, World at One), and does a seasonal food slot on Robert Elms’ show for BBC Radio London.

She is a proud and active Patron of the Fairtrade Foundation and an ambassador for Compassion in World Farming. She is also a Patron of The Food Chain, a charity that teaches people with HIV and AIDS how to eat and cook in a way that supports a healthy lifestyle. In 2008, she was awarded the MBE for services to the hospitality industry, for promoting healthier eating and ethical sourcing in the UK.

In 2020 she was offered an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts by Oxford Brookes University.

In January 2020 she set up a brand-new bespoke children’s teaching kitchen at her daughter’s school and started running weekly cookery classes for children aged nine to eleven as part of the curriculum. In the first lesson they all make bread, butter and jam from scratch in an hour “because armed with a jam sandwich anything is possible in life”.

Allegra lives in West London with her two young daughters

 

Contributions

Biography

Allegra McEvedy is a Chef, Writer And Broadcaster who completed her classical French Cookery Training at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, England .

She has been cooking professionally for 30 years, starting her career by working in some of London’s best restaurants as well as an eighteen-month spell on the East and West coasts of the United States. Over that time, she developed the philosophy that she continues to live and work by that there are more ways for a chef to make a difference than by winning Michelin stars, and good food should be available to everybody. In 2004, Allegra co-founded LEON, the award-winning, healthy, fast-food restaurant group, which opened its first outlet in Carnaby Street, Soho. Six months after opening, LEON was named the “Best New Restaurant in Great Britain” at the Observer Food Monthly Awards, and in 2008 it won the Palme d’Or for the Best Restaurant Concept in Europe.

In her broadcasting career, Allegra co-presented Economy Gastronomy, a six-part BBC2 prime-time series about planning ahead, shopping well, spending less and using ingredients wisely.She was one of the judges on CBBC’s Junior Bake Off, also co-hosting Step Up to The Plate, teaching children aged 11-14 with aspirations in the hospitality industry how to run a restaurant.

She has worked extensively with Good Food Channel, culminating in presenting Allegra’s Turkish Delights and Matt and Allegra’s Big Farm.

She enjoys radio, contributing regularly to BBC Radio 4 (Loose Ends, The Today Programme, Women’s Hour, World at One), and does a seasonal food slot on Robert Elms’ show for BBC Radio London.

She is a proud and active Patron of the Fairtrade Foundation and an ambassador for Compassion in World Farming. She is also a Patron of The Food Chain, a charity that teaches people with HIV and AIDS how to eat and cook in a way that supports a healthy lifestyle. In 2008, she was awarded the MBE for services to the hospitality industry, for promoting healthier eating and ethical sourcing in the UK.

In 2020 she was offered an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts by Oxford Brookes University.

In January 2020 she set up a brand-new bespoke children’s teaching kitchen at her daughter’s school and started running weekly cookery classes for children aged nine to eleven as part of the curriculum. In the first lesson they all make bread, butter and jam from scratch in an hour “because armed with a jam sandwich anything is possible in life”.

Allegra lives in West London with her two young daughters