Life on a Plate

The star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF tells his story for the first time.

Gregg Wallace, star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF, restaurateur and expert on all things pudding, shares his story for the first time. After leaving school at 14, he started his career as a greengrocer at the New Covent Garden market and went on to create his multi-million pound fruit and veg business a decade later. A star slot on BBC VEG TALK,and an award-winning television programme followed and, in 2005, the chance to front MASTERCHEF, a show that has drawn in over 4.5 million viewers and produced some of the nation's best up-and-coming chefs.

He has since opened two restaurants, Wallace & Co and Gregg's Table, penned numerous cookery books, and has written for the national and trade press. In this, his first memoir, Gregg tells how his early passion for food growing up in Peckham, south London, led to a world of Michelin star restaurants, celebrity chefs and a mission to save Britain's produce - andin an extraordinary turn with more than a few life-changing hurdles - brought him back to his roots.