Presenter biographies: V-Z

Born in Folkestone, Kent, Phil trained at restaurants in the Lake District before working at Gravetye Manor in West Sussex and Restaurant 74 in Canterbury. He then moved to Taunton in Somerset and became the head chef at the Castle Hotel. During his nine years there, among many awards, he won Michelin and Egon Ronay stars four years in a row.

He has since written several cookery books including Just Food: No Nonsense, No Fuss, Just Delicious; This Morning: Fern & Phil's Family Feast; Proof of the Pudding; A Passion for Puddings; and Seriously Good! Gluten-free Cooking. His next book, Phil Vickery's Puddings, will be released in October 2009.

He appears regularly on Ready Steady Cook and This Morning, as well as many other programmes. Phil also writes for several magazines and is married to TV presenter Fern Britton.

Born in Lancashire, Marcus Wareing trained at Southport College where he completed a three-year City and Guilds Catering course. His restaurant career started at The Savoy when he was 18. From there he moved to Le Gavroche to work alongside Albert Roux. Between 1991 and 1993 Marcus fine-tuned his expertise in classic French cooking in various international hotels and resorts including the Grand Hotel in Amsterdam under Albert Roux and Gravetye Manor in West Sussex.

In 1993 Marcus began working alongside Gordon Ramsay. He began this collaboration as sous chef at Aubergine, which went on to win two Michelin stars within three years of opening. In 1995, he took some time off from Aubergine to work with Daniel Boulud in New York City, and with Guy Savoy in Paris, during which time he was named the Restaurant Association’s Young Chef of the Year.

In 1996 Marcus returned to London to open L’Oranger under head chef Gordon Ramsay. In March 1999 Marcus opened Pétrus in The Berkeley Hotel in London's Knightsbridge; within seven months it had won a Michelin star. Pétrus received a second star in the Michelin Guide to Great Britain & Ireland 2007. The restaurant was renamed Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley in 2008 following a split between Wareing and Ramsay.

In 2003 Marcus was voted the Chef of the Year by Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine and, together with head chef Josh Emett, restored the Savoy Grill back to its former glory (it has since achieved its first Michelin star). In 2004 Marcus was voted Restaurateur of the Year at the Tatler Restaurant Awards.

In 2006 Marcus competed in BBC Two's Great British Menu and won the honour of cooking the dessert course at the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations. He also appeared in the second series in 2007.

Marcus published his first solo cookery books in 2007: How to Cook the Perfect... and One Perfect Ingredient, Three Ways to Cook It. His next book, Nutmeg and Custard, will be published in September 2009.

Valentine Warner grew up on a farm in Dorset, learning to fish, shoot and cook from a young age. He studied an art foundation course in Bath before heading to London to study as a portrait painter at the Byam Shaw School of Art.

He enjoyed a 'reasonably successful' career as a painter, but, at 23,couldn't resist the call of the kitchen and decided to focus his time on cooking instead of painting - working in various kitchens, such as at St John in London, and alongside various chefs, including Alastair Little.

Valentine then set up his own catering business, cooking private dinners for clients including Yves Saint-Laurent and Gucci, before selling out to his business partner.

A year of fishing in Mexico and Central America followed, during which time he 'fell in love' with Mexico's cuisine, inspiring him to co-launch Taqueria, a Mexican-style restaurant in Notting Hill, when he returned to London.

Valentine stars in the second series of the BBC Two programme, What To Eat Now, in summer 2009. His second book, What To Eat Now More Please: Spring and Summer, was published in spring 2009.

Lesley Waters studied French cuisine at Ealing College for three years before joining Prue Leith's Restaurant in 1978, where she rose to the rank of senior chef.

She teamed up again with Prue when she became an instructor at her food and wine school and, again, she was soon promoted to head teacher. In 2006, she went on to open her own institution, the Lesley Waters Cookery School in West Dorset. Three years later, she opened a second school in Salcombe on the South Devon Coast.

Lesley has worked in TV since 1989. As well as her regular appearances on Ready Steady Cook, Lesley has also presented BBC One's Can't Cook, Won't Cook and made guest appearances on BBC Two's Food & Drink and Who'll Do the Pudding?. She's also written several cookery books and currently hosts cookery days at her home in Dorset.

Lesley is one of the chefs featured in BBC Food's video recipe console, Get Cooking.

New Zealander Nicholas Watt has gained experience in some of the top restaurants around the world. He has worked as head chef at Chorizo in New Zealand and as sous chef at Xavier of Paddington in Sydney, Australia. After moving to Japan, Nicholas worked in Kozue and the New York Grill, both restaurants of the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

In January 1998, Nicholas moved to London to work as chef de partie at the Michelin-starred Nobu. This was followed by three years as chef de cuisine at The Rib Room and Oyster Bar at the Park Hyatt Hotel, after which he moved to Huka Lodge in New Zealand to become executive chef. During his time there Nicholas won several accolades, hosted royals and celebrities from all over the world, and released his first cookery book Chefs' Secrets from the Kitchen at Huka Lodge, which drew from his global cooking experience.

Nicholas then moved back to London to take on the role of head chef at Roka, a sibling of Zuma in Knightsbridge. Since opening in July 2004, Roka continues to enjoy success, winning Oriental Restaurant of the Year at the 2005 Tio Pepe Awards. There are also branches in Hong Kong and Macau.

Nicholas appeared in the BBC Two series Food Poker in autumn 2007.

Tristan Welch has forged a career in some of Europe’s top restaurants. He started as a commis chef at The Pink Geranium in London, before working his way up the food chain at top restaurants in London and Paris, including Le Gavroche and L’Arpège. It was while working at the latter that he won the 2000 Award of Excellence from the Academy of Culinary Arts, in recognition of his exceptional talent and ambition.

Tristan moved slowly north, working at The Box Tree, a Michelin-starred restaurant in North Yorkshire, before settling in Scotland for two years at the five-star Glenapp Castle in Ayrshire. In 2003, while still at Glenapp Castle, he won the Gordon Ramsay Scholarship Award.

Tristan then became head chef at the two Michelin-starred restaurant Pétrus (now known as Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley), in London, working under executive chef Marcus Wareing.

Tristan moved to Kensington-based restaurant Launceston Place in 2007, where, as head chef, he relaunched the restaurant with a modern British menu.

In 2009, Tristan took part in the fourth series of BBC Two’s Great British Menu, representing London and the south-east.

Bryn comes from Denby, North Wales. While studying cooking at college he picked up two awards, Student of the Year and was second-prize winner of the nationwide Roux Scholarship competition.

He was sous chef at Le Gavroche in London for three years and in 2001 he moved to Patisserie Millet in Paris. In the same year, he went on to work at Hotel Negresco, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Nice.

Back in Britain, Bryn moved to the Orrery in London, working there for three years under the tutelage of head chef André Garratt. In autumn 2006 he became head chef at Odette's in Primrose Hill, London.

Bryn has appeared on Saturday Kitchen. In 2006 he was a contestant on BBC Two's Great British Menu, impressing the judges throughout the stages of the competition and winning the public's vote to cook the fish course at the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations. He was also a finalist in the second series in spring 2007.

Following a career in some of the world’s most renowned kitchens Kevin was appointed as lecturer in professional cookery at Hull University. He rapidly rose through the ranks and after gaining a higher degree in management, he was appointed as the youngest head of department.

A career in the media soon beckoned and Kevin first hit the screens on ITV's This Morning programme before the BBC tempted him to join them.

His relaxed style, immense skill and ability to communicate at all levels has worked well on The Reluctant Cook, Big Kevin Little Kevin, Ready Steady Cook and Can't Cook, Won't Cook.

His popularity with viewers led to Kevin becoming a regular presenter on BBC’s Holiday programme and he was the co-presenter for Summer Holiday. He has also written several cookery books, including Can't Cook Won't Cook, Big Kevin Little Kevin and Kevin Woodford's Caravan Cookbook.

Fasten your Seatbelt was another successful series for Kevin as he assumed the roles of a taxi driver in New York, entertainer aboard a cruise ship, concierge at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong, a deckhand on a Caribbean tall ship and a children's holiday rep in Spain.

Hosting BBC One's live The Heaven and Earth Show, Kevin tackled social issues and interviewed celebrities including Sir John Mills, Jimmy Tarbuck, Gabrielle, Chris de Burgh and Moby.

Michael Aspel paid a This is Your Life tribute to Kevin who at the time was playing Robert Hale in the BBC series Doctors.

Kevin's celebrity status has led to him appearing in several shows including Lily Savage's Blankety Blank, Through the Keyhole, Countdown, Celebrity Weakest Link and The National Lottery Show. He also enjoys appearing live on stage - he played Baron Hardup in Cinderella with Danny la Rue at the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe in 2002 for which he received rave reviews for his comic timing.

Kevin has also appeared regularly on BBC Two's Ready Steady Cook.

Antony Worrall Thompson is a restaurateur and TV chef. He presented Saturday Kitchen until 2006 and was a regular guest chef on Ready Steady Cook.

Known as AWT or Wozza, Antony was born in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon and educated at a Canterbury public school. Afterwards, he studied hotel and catering management at Westminster Kingsway College in London before taking his first catering job in Essex.

In 1978, he moved to London and became sous chef at Brinkley's Restaurant in the Fulham Road. One month later, he was head chef. The following year he took a sabbatical in France, eating and working his way around the local cuisine. By 1981, AWT had opened his own restaurant in London, Ménage à Trois - notable for only serving starters and puddings.

Since then, the restaurants he's been involved with have been heaped with accolades. He has won the Mouton Rothschild Menu Competition and the Meilleur Ouvrier de Grande Bretagne (MOGB) award. Currently Antony has two restaurants - Kew Grill in Richmond-Upon-Thames and Windsor Grill in Berkshire.

Antony has been involved with numerous restaurants in London and the Home Counties. He has also written several recipe books including Antony's Weekend Cookbook and Real Family Food.

He is passionate about organic farming and grows many herbs and vegetables for his restaurants.