RT @mrjyn - Keith Floyd R.I.P. - http://j.mp/Mrp2G - Best of Floyd on France - Video Obituary #YouTube #video -
Keith Floyd specialised in cooking in the most extraordinary places. With a whisk in one hand, a glass of wine in the other and wearing his trademark bow-tie, Keith Floyd transformed the face of television cookery.
Whether rustling up a spicy prawn dish on a beach in Thailand, 40-clove garlic chicken in Provence or jambalaya in Louisiana, Floyd's idiosyncratic, often shambolic, style of presentation endeared him to millions of viewers around the world.
After working as everything from a potato peeler to a dishwasher, Keith Floyd opened his first restaurant, Floyd's Bistro, in Bristol. He was a mere 22 years old. His culinary style, with its emphasis on fish, proved a hit and he was soon running three establishments.
The 1985 series Floyd on Fish established him as a star.
The first episode, for example, featured Floyd cooking on a trawler while out at sea, meeting other chefs and demonstrating their recipes. But Floyd's lack of business acumen, and a staggering propensity to distribute largesse to all and sundry, soon proved his downfall, just as they would throughout his career.
After selling up, he sojourned in France for a while before buying a restaurant there. This too, was a failure and Floyd returned to Bristol and opened yet another bistro. This restaurant, situated near the city's BBC studios, was frequented by a television producer and bon viveur by the name of David Pritchard. It was Pritchard who first recognised the star potential of the place's eccentric, Stranglers-loving, patrons.
As a presenter, Keith Floyd was unique. Well lubricated with the ubiquitous glass of wine, both booze and banter would flow as he directed his long-suffering cameraman Clive to show either his face or the dish with regular commands like "back to me". Additionally, Pritchard would often order scenes to be re-shot, with a recharged glass each time so, as Floyd later admitted:
"I used to come off those shoots just wrecked."
It should probably have failed, but the alchemy produced by the flamboyant chef and the immediacy of Pritchard's production style proved an instant hit.
Series after series followed - Floyd on Food, on France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Floyd's American Pie and Far Flung Floyd, to name but a few. And the books of the series made Floyd a wealthy man.
But the good times were not to last. Having ploughed a million pounds into his dream pub, The Maltsters Arms in Devon, Keith Floyd lost the lot.
His media commitments prevented him from spending much time there and not even the presence of superchef-in-waiting Jean-Christophe Novelli in the kitchen was consolation for diners who wanted to meet the man himself. Floyd eventually went bankrupt, allegedly after he accepted a £36,000 cheque for a drinks order. The cheque bounced.
And matters got even worse when the BBC canceled his shows. In an era of Nigella, Gordon, Jamie and a re-emergent Delia, the airwaves were packed with cookery programmes.
More recently, Floyd appeared on channel Five and had been in negotiations with the BBC about a return. But many bridges had been burned. He fell out spectacularly with David Pritchard and was bitter, both about his treatment by the BBC and his own legacy.
"We don't cook any more, we just watch TV programmes about cookery," he told one interviewer. "Nobody takes cookery seriously now, it's just cheap entertainment. I'm totally to blame. I started it all and now I'm going to go down in history for having started a series of culinary game shows.
"It makes me terribly sad."
@mrjyn
September 15, 2009
Keith Floyd R.I.P. Best of Floyd on France - Video Obituary
BBC NEWS | UK | Obituary: Keith Floyd
BBC NEWS | UK | Obituary: Keith FloydObituary: Keith Floyd
Keith Floyd specialised in cooking in the most extraordinary places
With a whisk in one hand, a glass of wine in the other and wearing his trademark bow-tie, Keith Floyd transformed the face of television cookery.
Whether rustling up a spicy prawn dish on a beach in Thailand, 40-clove garlic chicken in Provence or jambalaya in Louisiana, Floyd's idiosyncratic, often shambolic, style of presentation endeared him to millions of viewers around the world.
But Keith Floyd almost stumbled into stardom. Born in 1943, he was educated at Wellington School, Somerset, and became a junior newspaper reporter before the sight of the Michael Caine film Zulu led him into the Army.
He served as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment before leaving to pursue a career in the catering industry.
After working as everything from a potato peeler to a dishwasher, Keith Floyd opened his first restaurant, Floyd's Bistro, in Bristol. He was a mere 22 years old.
His culinary style, with its emphasis on fish, proved a hit and he was soon running three establishments.
The 1985 series Floyd on Fish established him as a starBut Floyd's lack of business acumen, and a staggering propensity to distribute largesse to all and sundry, soon proved his downfall, just as they would throughout his career.
After selling up, he sojourned in France for a while before buying a restaurant there. This too, was a failure and Floyd returned to Bristol and opened yet another bistro.
This restaurant, situated near the city's BBC studios, was frequented by a television producer and bon viveur by the name of David Pritchard.
It was Pritchard who first recognised the star potential of the place's eccentric, Stranglers-loving, patron.
Well lubricated
Though Floyd was well known among Bristol's foodies, and had already written his first book, Floyd's Food, it was television exposure that made him a star.
The 1985 series Floyd on Fish was unlike anything that had come before. For a start, Pritchard moved the action out of the television studio.
The first episode, for example, featured Floyd cooking on a trawler while out at sea, meeting other chefs and demonstrating their recipes.
Keith Floyd's effervescent style made him famous around the worldAs a presenter, Keith Floyd was unique. Well lubricated with the ubiquitous glass of wine, both booze and banter would flow as he directed his long-suffering cameraman Clive to show either his face or the dish with regular commands like "back to me".
Additionally, Pritchard would often order scenes to be re-shot, with a recharged glass each time so, as Floyd later admitted: "I used to come off those shoots just wrecked."
It should probably have failed, but the alchemy produced by the flamboyant chef and the immediacy of Pritchard's production style proved an instant hit.
Series after series followed - Floyd on Food, on France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Floyd's American Pie and Far Flung Floyd, to name but a few. And the books of the series made Floyd a wealthy man.
Bankrupt
But the good times were not to last. Having ploughed a million pounds into his dream pub, The Maltsters Arms in Devon, Keith Floyd lost the lot.
His media commitments prevented him from spending much time there and not even the presence of superchef-in-waiting Jean-Christophe Novelli in the kitchen was consolation for diners who wanted to meet the man himself.
Floyd eventually went bankrupt, allegedly after he accepted a £36,000 cheque for a drinks order. The cheque bounced.
Cheers! Floyd took cookery programmes out of the studioAnd matters got even worse when the BBC cancelled his shows. In an era of Nigella, Gordon, Jamie and a re-emergent Delia, the airwaves were packed with cookery programmes.
More recently, Floyd appeared on channel Five and had been in negotiations with the BBC about a return.
But many bridges had been burned. He fell out spectacularly with David Pritchard and was bitter, both about his treatment by the BBC and his own legacy.
"We don't cook any more, we just watch TV programmes about cookery," he told one interviewer.
"Nobody takes cookery seriously now, it's just cheap entertainment. I'm totally to blame. I started it all and now I'm going to go down in history for having started a series of culinary game shows.
"It makes me terribly sad."
BBC NEWS | UK | Celebrity chef Keith Floyd dies
BBC NEWS | UK | Celebrity chef Keith Floyd diesCelebrity chef Keith Floyd dies
Keith Floyd, flamboyant TV chef, dies
Celebrity chef Keith Floyd has died following a heart attack, aged 65.
He died at his partner's Dorset home on Monday. Floyd, diagnosed with bowel cancer in June, enjoyed a last meal of oysters and partridge, with champagne.
He shot to fame in the 1980s in ground-breaking cookery shows, presented with huge enthusiasm and wine glass in hand.
Chef Marco Pierre White said Floyd had "inspired a nation" with his programmes, while Jamie Oliver said he had been "the best television chef".
An incredible man who lived life to the full and an inspiration to me and to so many others
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver
Floyd's eccentric, often shambolic style of presentation endeared him to millions of viewers around the world.
White said: "He had this great ability at the stove, great confidence. He was a natural cook.
"But his very special talent was he could articulate himself and deliver inspiration with words. He spoke in a way that everybody could understand."
He added: "A little piece of Britain died yesterday which will never be replaced.
"He was an individual, he was a maverick, he was mercurial, he was magical, he was special, he was rare."
Floyd's unique presentation style was an instant hitOliver said: "Keith was not just one of the best, he was the best television chef.
"An incredible man who lived life to the full and an inspiration to me and to so many others."
"I think all of us modern TV chefs owe a living to him. He kind of spawned us all," said Antony Worrall Thompson.
Floyd opened his first restaurant, Floyd's Bistro, in Bristol, at the age of 22.
Years later, it was running another establishment near the BBC studios in the city that Floyd was discovered by television producer David Pritchard.
Their 1985 series, Floyd on Fish, was an instant hit, and subsequent series took the chef all over the world.
Wine-fuelled flamboyance
The programmes were ground-breaking at the time for taking the cooking out of a studio, but it was Floyd's wine-fuelled flamboyance that viewers loved.
"That was his charm, completely, the fact that if it all went wrong he just threw it in the bin and carried on," said TV chef Phil Vickery.
He pioneered a new kind of cookery programme driven by his exuberant passion for good food, good wine and a good time
Janice Hadlow
BBC Two controller"He didn't live in the sanitised world of perfect studio cookery; he was out and about, he loved his drink and he loved engaging with other people."
His former manager Stan Green said Floyd's passing was, "the end of an era for many of us".
"We are aware that Keith enjoyed life to the full, right up to the end, but we may also remember him for the innovative, brilliant Floyd television series."
BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said Floyd had "pioneered a new kind of cookery programme driven by his exuberant passion for good food, good wine and a good time".
Floyd wrote more than 20 books, many of them best-sellers. His autobiography, Stirred But Not Shaken, is due to be published next month.
Mr Steen, the book's ghost-writer, said: "For an autobiography you have to be introspective and he found that difficult to start with, but yesterday when I spoke to him he was a really happy man.
"He was very excited about it. The experience for him was therapeutic."
A lack of business acumen plagued Floyd throughout his career, and he went bankrupt in the 1990s reportedly after a £36,000 cheque he had accepted for a drinks bill bounced.
He was married four times, with a son from his first marriage and a daughter from his second.
Dorset Police said the death had been reported to the coroner for west Dorset, and a routine post-mortem examination would be conducted.
I REALLY LOVED THIS SOT: MY STRANGLERS/KEITH FLOYD VIDEO TO COME - STAY TUNED: September 14 2009, Keith Floyd passed away. He will be greatly missed by many - ONCE I GOT INTO A FISTFIGHT AT BALDUCCIS IN THE VILLAGE OVER BOUILLIABASE INGREDIENTS
- Keith Floyd's Official Website - Keith Floyd Recipes, Keith Floyd Books, Floyd's Cookery TheatreOn Monday, September 14 2009, Keith passed away. He will be greatly missed by many.