Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a British celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer and "real food" campaigner, known for his back-to-basics philosophy. He is best known for being the lead personality in the River Cottage series on UK's Channel 4, which focuses on his efforts to become a self-reliant downshifted smallholder in rural England and feed himself, family and friends with locally produced and sourced fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs and meat. Born in London to gardener and writer Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall and Robert Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hugh was brought up... in Gloucestershire. He was educated at Eton College and St Peter's College, Oxford, where he read philosophy and psychology. After graduating from university, he began a career in conservation work in Africa. He then spent a brief period as a sous-chef at River Café. Fearnley-Whittingstall says "being messy" and "lacking discipline" made him unsuited to working in the River Café kitchen. He regards it as an event that helped shape his current career. He became a freelance journalist, published in Punch, the Evening Standard and The Sunday Times.
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