RIVER COTTAGE

River Cottage has given millions of TV viewers a taste for great cooking since 1999, when Hugh first brought his famous food ethos to Channel 4. Their hard-hitting campaigns have changed the eating habits of a nation and improved the welfare and sustainability of animals and fish. The original River Cottage was a former weekend and holiday home and previously a gamekeeper's lodge in the grounds of Slape Manor, Netherbury, Dorset. It was used as the location for series 1-3 of the TV show, and the heart of operations for the self-sufficiency project and rural education centre run by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.

Having moved to a new location, River Cottage has become a base for a Cookery and Chefs' School, unique dining experiences and host to a whole range of events. There is also the award-winning River Cottage Kitchen in the town centre, a relaxed and informal cafe and restaurant.

Hugh established River Cottage HQ in Dorset in 2004, and the operation is now based at Park Farm near Axminster in Devon. An organic smallholding, HQ is also a hub of waste free, sustainable food education.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a multi-award-winning writer and broadcaster known for his uncompromising commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food and his concern for the environment. He has earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series and books, as well as campaigns such as Hugh’s Fish Fight, Hugh’s War on Waste, Britain’s Fat Fight and, his latest, War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita.

Hugh’s early smallholding experiences were shown in the Channel 4 River Cottage series and led to the publication of The River Cottage Cookbook (2001), which won the Glenfiddich Trophy and the André Simon Food Book of the Year award. Thirteen more books have followed, including the acclaimed River Cottage Meat Book and the immensely popular River Cottage Veg Everyday. Hugh’s latest book is River Cottage Much More Veg.

Hugh’s broadcasting has earned him a BAFTA as well as awards from Radio 4, The Observer and the Guild of Food Writers. Besides more than 20 cookery-based series, Hugh’s TV work includes hard-hitting campaigns such as the highly influential Fish Fight, which brought about changes in fisheries law at the European level. Britain’s Fat Fight, aired on BBC1, tackles the national obesity crisis.

Hugh continues to work as a journalist and wrote a weekly column for The Guardian between 2006 and 2014. He is a vice president of Fauna and Flora International and a patron of Switchback, a charity that helps young offenders find opportunities in the catering industry.