Marco Pierre White born 11 December is an English chef, restaurateur, and television personality. When Marco was six, his mother died from a cerebral haemorrhage caused by complications from the birth of his younger brother. He left Allerton High School in Leeds without any qualifications [ 5 ] and decided to train as a chef like his father. He then branched out on his own, working in the kitchen at the Six Bells public house in the Kings Road with assistant Mario Batali.
In , White opened Harveys in Wandsworth Common , London, where he won his first Michelin star almost immediately, and his second a year later. In , White became the youngest chef to achieve three Michelin stars at his eponymous restaurant. Although White worked for seventeen years to pursue his ambition, he ultimately found that, in spite of his accomplishments, recognition and fame, his career did not provide him with adequate returns in his personal life.
So, in , he retired and returned his Michelin stars. I was being judged by people who had less knowledge than me, so what was it truly worth? I gave Michelin inspectors too much respect, and I belittled myself. I had three options: I could be a prisoner of my world and continue to work six days a week, I could live a lie and charge high prices and not be behind the stove or I could give my stars back, spend time with my children and re-invent myself.
White announced his retirement from the kitchen in , and cooked his final meal for a paying customer on 23 December at the Oak Room. After his retirement from cooking, he became a restaurateur. Together with Jimmy Lahoud , he set up White Star Line Ltd, which they operated together for several years before ending their partnership in In May , the two restaurants became the London Steakhouse Co.
White had a stake in the Yew Tree Inn, a 17th-century dining pub near Highclere in Hampshire , although following an acrimonious falling out with his business partners the pub was sold. You're not just paying for beer, you're paying for the place you drink it in and the people who serve it.
