Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson was born on 1 May 1951 in Stratford-upon-Avon. The future celebrity chef attended a public school in Canterbury before going on to study hotel and catering management at Westminster College.
Early career
In 1978 he landed a job as a sous chef at Brinkley's Restaurant in London, where his culinary talents obviously made an impression as he was promoted to head chef after just a year. After spending a six-month sabbatical period in France, Antony returned to the restaurant and incorporated all he'd learned abroad in a revamped menu. Then in 1981 he struck out on his own be opening his first restaurant, Ménage a Trois, in Knightsbridge.
Own restaurants
In a brave move Anthony - who was a favourite of the late Princess Diana - opted to serve only starters and puddings, making his location the first restaurant in London to do so. He then added to his eatery portfolio with the Notting Grill in West London, Two pubs in Henley-on-Thames, and Wiz and Woz in West London again. Sadly, in February 2009 the chef's restaurant holding company was placed into administration, leading to the loss of 60 jobs and the closure of four restaurants.
TV career
Antony made the transition into small screen chef success in 1998 with a role as the resident chef and presenter on BBC 2's Food And Drink programme. He then went on to consolidated his popular TV presence with regular appearances on Ready Steady Cook, as well as stints on celebrity specials. Other television ventures include This Morning, Richard & Judy and Masterchef. He also hosted popular cookery programme Saturday Kitchen, and fronted ITV's Daily Cooks Challenge. He took part in the second series of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in 2003, and also has enjoyed success writing cookery books and for several British newspapers and magazines.
Personal life
Passionate about organic farming, Antony grows many of the vegetables and herbs used in his restaurants in his own plots. He has an avocado farm in Spain where he retreats regularly with his wife Jay and their two children, Toby-Jack and Billie Lara. Back in the UK, the family share their Henley-on-Thames base with pet dogs and cars, and a variety of pigs, fish and chickens.
