British Heritage
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Tom Parker Bowles
Culinary Curator of British Heritage.
Thomas Henry Charles Parker Bowles, known as Tom Parker Bowles, is an acclaimed British food writer, critic, and broadcaster. The author of seven cookbooks and recipient of the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award, Parker Bowles has cultivated a successful career in gastronomy. His widespread influence has ranged from television food series to internationally recognised restaurant reviews. As the son of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Parker Bowles' contribution to British heritage extends beyond the realms of culinary criticism and literature into the world of royalty.
Born in London on 18 December 1974, Tom Parker Bowles spent his early years in Allington, Wiltshire at Bolehyde Manor, later moving to Middlewick House in Corsham. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he belongs to a lineage of Roman Catholics, including his father, Andrew Parker Bowles, and paternal grandmother, Dame Ann Parker Bowles. This heritage ties him distantly to the Earldom of Macclesfield.
His academic journey began at Summer Fields prep school in Oxford, followed by Heywood Preparatory School in Corsham, alongside his sister Laura. He continued his studies at the prestigious Eton College before moving on to Worcester College, Oxford. This rigorous education set the stage for his blossoming career in food writing, a passion he discovered soon after leaving school. He attributes his love for food writing to his mother's culinary expertise and recipes.
Parker Bowles' professional career began in 1997 as a junior publicist for Dennis Davidson Associates public relations firm, but his passion for food led him to become Tatler's food columnist in 2001. Since then, he has contributed his culinary insights as a food critic for The Mail on Sunday and food editor of Esquire. He also contributed to numerous prestigious publications, including Conde Nast Traveller, Departures, Country Life, Harpers Bazaar, Town and Country, and Gordon Ramsay's The F Word.
His television appearances include co-hosting Market Kitchen on the Good Food Channel from 2007 to 2010, and acting as a judge on ITV Food series Food Glorious Food, Channel nine Australia's cooking series The Hot Plate, and Series 1 of Family Food Fight. He is a regular critic on MasterChef (BBC 1). In 2014, his culinary prowess earned him a spot on the list of Top 10 most followed UK restaurant critics on Twitter.
Parker Bowles published his first cookbook, E Is For Eating – An Alphabet of Greed, in 2004. The success of this debut paved the way for subsequent works, including The Year of Eating Dangerously: A Global Adventure in Search of Culinary Extremes, named one of the 50 Best Food Memoirs by AbeBooks, and Full English: A Journey Through the British and Their Food, which won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for the best work on British food. His book Let's Eat Meat: Recipes for Prime Cuts, Cheap Bits and Glorious Scraps of Meat, showcased his fondness for a diversity of meat dishes. His latest book, Fortnum and Mason - Christmas and Other Winter Feasts, was published in October 2018.
Parker Bowles' culinary passions extended beyond writing and broadcasting into business. In November 2011, in collaboration with food writer Matthew Fort and farmer Rupert Ponsonby, he launched a pork scratchings snack named Mr Trotter's Great British Pork Crackling. Following the product's successful reviews and sales, they launched a beer brand named Mr Trotter's Chestnut Ale in 2013, reputed to be the UK's first chestnut beer. The Mr. Trotter's brand has since continued to expand, creating a variety of food products.
Parker Bowles married Sara Buys, an editor at Harpers & Queen magazine, on 10 September 2005 at St. Nicholas' Anglican Church in Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire. The couple have two children, Lola and Frederick. Parker Bowles and Buys separated in 2018. In 2019, Parker Bowles began dating former journalist Alice Procope. Sadly, Procope passed away from cancer in 2021.
Throughout his life, Tom Parker Bowles has navigated the unique intersection of British royalty and culinary heritage. His contribution to the British gastronomy scene, through his writing, broadcasting, and entrepreneurship, has left an indelible mark on the nation's cultural landscape. His passion for food, deeply embedded in his upbringing and personal experiences, continues to inspire food lovers in the UK and around the world. His body of work, combining culinary expertise with a distinctively British perspective, has enriched and elevated the nation's gastronomic heritage.
The Formative Years: Preparation for a Life in Gastronomy
Born in London on 18 December 1974, Tom Parker Bowles spent his early years in Allington, Wiltshire at Bolehyde Manor, later moving to Middlewick House in Corsham. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he belongs to a lineage of Roman Catholics, including his father, Andrew Parker Bowles, and paternal grandmother, Dame Ann Parker Bowles. This heritage ties him distantly to the Earldom of Macclesfield.
His academic journey began at Summer Fields prep school in Oxford, followed by Heywood Preparatory School in Corsham, alongside his sister Laura. He continued his studies at the prestigious Eton College before moving on to Worcester College, Oxford. This rigorous education set the stage for his blossoming career in food writing, a passion he discovered soon after leaving school. He attributes his love for food writing to his mother's culinary expertise and recipes.
A Flourishing Career in Gastronomy
Parker Bowles' professional career began in 1997 as a junior publicist for Dennis Davidson Associates public relations firm, but his passion for food led him to become Tatler's food columnist in 2001. Since then, he has contributed his culinary insights as a food critic for The Mail on Sunday and food editor of Esquire. He also contributed to numerous prestigious publications, including Conde Nast Traveller, Departures, Country Life, Harpers Bazaar, Town and Country, and Gordon Ramsay's The F Word.
His television appearances include co-hosting Market Kitchen on the Good Food Channel from 2007 to 2010, and acting as a judge on ITV Food series Food Glorious Food, Channel nine Australia's cooking series The Hot Plate, and Series 1 of Family Food Fight. He is a regular critic on MasterChef (BBC 1). In 2014, his culinary prowess earned him a spot on the list of Top 10 most followed UK restaurant critics on Twitter.
From Television Critic to Cookbook Author
Parker Bowles published his first cookbook, E Is For Eating – An Alphabet of Greed, in 2004. The success of this debut paved the way for subsequent works, including The Year of Eating Dangerously: A Global Adventure in Search of Culinary Extremes, named one of the 50 Best Food Memoirs by AbeBooks, and Full English: A Journey Through the British and Their Food, which won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for the best work on British food. His book Let's Eat Meat: Recipes for Prime Cuts, Cheap Bits and Glorious Scraps of Meat, showcased his fondness for a diversity of meat dishes. His latest book, Fortnum and Mason - Christmas and Other Winter Feasts, was published in October 2018.
Savouring Success in Business Ventures
Parker Bowles' culinary passions extended beyond writing and broadcasting into business. In November 2011, in collaboration with food writer Matthew Fort and farmer Rupert Ponsonby, he launched a pork scratchings snack named Mr Trotter's Great British Pork Crackling. Following the product's successful reviews and sales, they launched a beer brand named Mr Trotter's Chestnut Ale in 2013, reputed to be the UK's first chestnut beer. The Mr. Trotter's brand has since continued to expand, creating a variety of food products.
A Royal's Personal Life
Parker Bowles married Sara Buys, an editor at Harpers & Queen magazine, on 10 September 2005 at St. Nicholas' Anglican Church in Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire. The couple have two children, Lola and Frederick. Parker Bowles and Buys separated in 2018. In 2019, Parker Bowles began dating former journalist Alice Procope. Sadly, Procope passed away from cancer in 2021.
Throughout his life, Tom Parker Bowles has navigated the unique intersection of British royalty and culinary heritage. His contribution to the British gastronomy scene, through his writing, broadcasting, and entrepreneurship, has left an indelible mark on the nation's cultural landscape. His passion for food, deeply embedded in his upbringing and personal experiences, continues to inspire food lovers in the UK and around the world. His body of work, combining culinary expertise with a distinctively British perspective, has enriched and elevated the nation's gastronomic heritage.
- Tom Parker Bowlesen.wikipedia.org
