David Everitt-Matthias

David Everitt-Matthias bestrides the British restaurant scene like few other chefs. Respected and admired worldwide, he has become the epitome of the ‘chef’s chef’. He has a passion and fascination for wild food, which has come to inform much of his cooking, helping to create a cuisine unlike any other. His first book, Essence, was an instant commercial and critical success when first published in 2006, and has since become an essential tool for professional chefs and enthusiastic amateurs alike. It won the 2006 World Gourmand Award for 'Most Innovative UK Cookbook'. His second book, Dessert, was published in 2009 and also won a World Gourmand Award, the runner-up in the 'Best Cookery Book in the World' category. His 2-Michelin-star restaurant, Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, continues to go from strength to strength. And it is in the kitchen of this wonderful restaurant where you will always find David: orchestrating and overseeing absolutely every dish, something he has been doing without fail for every single service since he opened the restaurant with his wife, Helen, way back in 1987. It is said that he has an 'ability for making dishes taste more of themselves than the original ingredient'. His tireless experimentation and his extraordinary craftsmanship have won the restaurant many awards and plaudits and in the UK he is with very few peers indeed; beyond the UK, he shares the company of some of the very finest chefs that the world has to offer. A third book, Beyond Essence, is being planned for 2012.