Simon Hopkinson

Hopkinson was born in Greenmount, Bury, in 1954, the son of a dentist father and a mother who taught art at Bury Grammar School.{{cite web|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/going-out/simons-keeping-it-simple-1080368|title=Simon's keeping it simple|author=Paul Taylor|date=16 August 2005|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=15 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115041009/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/going-out/simons-keeping-it-simple-1080368|url-status=live}} At the age of eight he was awarded a chorister's scholarship to St John's College School in Cambridge. At 13 he moved to Trent College, near Nottingham.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/19/simon-hopkinson-good-cook-interview|title=Simon Hopkinson on roasts, chickens and other stories|author=Rachel Cooke|work=The Guardian}}

Hopkinson started his career at the age of 17 in the kitchens of Le Normandie in Birtle, near Bury, Lancashire, under the supervision of Yves Champeau. Following on from this, in 1978 he became the youngest chef to acquire an Egon Ronay Guide star with his restaurant the Shed in Dinas in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

He spent the next two and a half years as an Egon Ronay inspector. He returned to London, and, after a three-year stint as a private chef, he was installed at Hilaire, which opened in Old Brompton Road in 1983. A friendship with the Conrans led to the establishment of Bibendum in 1987, where he worked as the chef and joint proprietor with Sir Terence Conran and the late Lord Paul Hamlyn.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/19/michelin-men-claude-bosi-terence-conran-and-the-return-of-bibendum |work=The Guardian |access-date=10 August 2018 |title=Michelin men: Claude Bosi, Terence Conran and the return of Bibendum |date=19 February 2017 |archive-date=10 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810173821/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/19/michelin-men-claude-bosi-terence-conran-and-the-return-of-bibendum |url-status=live }}

Bibendum was created out of the abandoned Michelin House on Fulham Road, which served as Michelin's UK headquarters from 1911 to 1985. Inside the restaurant, Hopkinson continued his philosophy of well-judged simple cooking which he garnered from his influences Richard Olney, Jane Grigson and Elizabeth David.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/simon-hopkinson-the-reluctant-chef-502613.html |title=Simon Hopkinson: The reluctant chef – Profiles, People |work=The Independent |date=13 August 2005 |first=Brian |last=Viner |access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-date=18 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818104313/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/simon-hopkinson-the-reluctant-chef-502613.html |url-status=live }}

He also began a cookery column in The Independent and in 1994 his first book, Roast Chicken and Other Stories (co-authored with Lindsey Bareham), was published. It later won a Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.theragens.com/wines/books_glenfiddich_awards.htm|title=Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards|publisher=TheRagens Wine Pages|access-date=18 November 2010|archive-date=23 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023081916/http://www.theragens.com/wines/books_glenfiddich_awards.htm|url-status=live}} In 2005, it was voted "Most Useful Cookbook of All Time" by Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine.{{cite web |first=Jan |last=Moir |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkbooks/3320959/This-man-is-the-best-cook-in-Britain.html |title=This man is the best cook in Britain |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=9 August 2005 |access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524074926/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkbooks/3320959/This-man-is-the-best-cook-in-Britain.html |url-status=live }}

Also in 1994, Hopkinson suffered what he termed a "mini-breakdown" during restaurant service one evening. He left Bibendum early in 1995 to devote his time to cookery writing. He was replaced as the head chef by Matthew Harris.

In June 2011, Hopkinson presented his cooking show The Good Cook, every Friday after The One Show on BBC. The series consisted of 6 episodes, being frequently repeated on BBC Two and some excerpts used on BBC One's Saturday Kitchen. From June 2013, Hopkinson has presented a new show called Simon Hopkinson Cooks on Channel 4's digital channel More4.

In 2001, it was mistakenly reported by The Sun newspaper that Hopkinson was dating British actress Helen Worth.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/19/simon-hopkinson-helen-worth|title=Helen Worth on Simon Hopkinson|newspaper=The Guardian|author=Eva Wiseman|access-date=9 April 2015|date=18 July 2009}}

• Roast Chicken and Other Stories, 1994
• Sweetbreads, Liver and Kidneys, 1997
• Gammon and Spinach, Macmillan, 1998
• The Prawn Cocktail Years (with Lindsey Bareham), 1997
• Second Helpings of Roast Chicken, Random House, 2006
• Week In Week Out, Quadrille, 2007
• The Bibendum Cookbook (with Terence Conran and Matthew Harris), Octopus Books, 2008
• The Vegetarian, Option, Abrams, 2009
• The Good Cook, Ebury Publishing, 2012
• Simon Hopkinson Cooks, Random House, 2013

• {{cite journal |author=Hopkinson, Simon |date=Sep 10, 2014 |title=Autumn treasures |department=Simon's Kitchen |journal=Country Life |volume=208 |issue=37 |pages=128–129 |url=http://www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/simon-hopkinsons-raspberry-recipes-61570 }}Published online under title "Simon Hopkinson’s raspberry recipes".

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|id=2438798|name=Simon Hopkinson}}
• [http://www.simonhopkinson.tv Simon Hopkinson Website] Official Site
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012gg69 The Good Cook – with Simon Hopkinson]
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012gg7q BBC One - The Good Cook, Episode 1] The Good Cook, programme 1

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.bibendum.co.uk/people.html Claude Bosi – Bibendum] Biography from Bibendum's website
• [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkbooks/3320959/This-man-is-the-best-cook-in-Britain.html This man is the best cook in Britain] 'This man is the best cook in Britain', Jan Moir 2005

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Category:1954 births

Category:Living people

Category:Writers from Bury, Greater Manchester

Category:Writers from Lancashire

Category:English food writers

Category:British restaurant critics

Category:English cookbook writers

Category:20th-century English writers

Category:21st-century English writers

Category:Television personalities from Lancashire

Category:English television personalities

Category:English restaurateurs

Category:English television chefs

Category:People educated at Bury Grammar School

Category:Country Life (magazine) people

Category:English male chefs