Prue Leith

Dame Prue Leith was born in 1940 in South Africa, and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, before moving to England in 1960 to study at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School. Over nearly sixty years, Prue Leith has risen to the top of the British food scene. She has seen huge success not only as founder of the renowned Leith’s School of Food and Wine, but also as a caterer, restaurateur, teacher, TV cook, food journalist, novelist, and cookery book author of books such as The Joy of Baking. She’s also been a leading figure in campaigns to improve food in schools, hospitals and in the home, being appointed a Dame in the Queen's 2021 Honours List and made Chancellor of Queen Margaret University in 2017. She is well known as a former judge on The Great British Menu, and the nation’s favourite TV programme, The Great British Bake Off.