Clare Smyth, chef - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

Clare Smyth is a highly acclaimed chef and is the first British woman to win the coveted three Michelin stars for her work. She opened her London restaurant, Core, in 2017, and before that she ran Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which also held three Michelin stars.

Clare was born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and grew up on a farm, where her love of simple ingredients was nurtured. The youngest of three children, she discovered a passion for cooking and decided to make it her career from an early age.

She left home at 16, moving to England to take a catering course at a college in Portsmouth. Her ambition was to work with the finest chefs, and after completing her course and apprenticeship, she went on to cook in some of the most acclaimed kitchens in the world, including Le Louis XV under Alain Ducasse in Monaco. She returned to London to work in Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, at the invitation of the proprietor, and became the first British woman to run a three Michelin-starred kitchen.

Her many awards include the title of the World's Best Female Chef in 2018, and she received an MBE for services to the hospitality industry in 2013. She also found herself in the spotlight in 2018 as the caterer for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. She lives in London with her husband.

DISC ONE: Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses
DISC TWO: Zombie by The Cranberries
DISC THREE: Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis
DISC FOUR: Common People by Pulp
DISC FIVE: Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
DISC SIX: Maria by Blondie
DISC SEVEN: Brass in Pocket by Pretenders
DISC EIGHT: Circle of Life by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.

BOOK CHOICE: The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
LUXURY ITEM: A chef’s knife
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Circle of Life by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Further episodes of Desert Island Discs

Further podcasts by BBC Radio 4

Website of BBC Radio 4