John Burton Race

Profession: Celebrity chef
Place/Date of Birth: Singapore, 1957
Associated with: I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here

Jungle chef’s divorce row boils over - Nov 28 2007
I’m A Celebrity contestant John Burton Race left the reality television show - apparently to be faced with the news that his Michelin-star restaurant has shut.

It is understood all staff at the New Angel in Dartmouth, south Devon, have been sacked after his wife, Kim, closed the restaurant.

A notice in the window states: "It is with deep regret that the New Angel restaurant and rooms will cease trading."

The TV chef, who is in the process of divorcing his 42-year-old wife, was reported in The Times today (Wednesday) as saying he had "no idea" the restaurant had been closed and that the decision was not made by him.

The couple bought the New Angel three years ago and Mrs Burton Race was running it during the two weeks her husband spent in Australia on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

In March the 50-year-old, who starred in the television series French Leave and The Return Of The Chef, left his wife and their six children for Suzie Ward, 40, and their three-year-old son.

The couple are staying in an Australian hotel after John was voted off the ITV show on Saturday.

The restaurant was put up for sale earlier this year along with the six-bedroom New Angel bed and breakfast accommodation.

Offers were invited in the region of £1.7 million for the restaurant and £850,000 for the accommodation.

Neither John nor his wife was available for comment today.

John voted out of I’m A Celebrity jungle - Nov 26 2007
John Burton Race was the fourth contestant to be voted off I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.

Despite making a splash in the latest Bushtucker Trial, the TV chef was chosen by the public to be sent home from Australia.

After being kicked out, John said his 14 days in the jungle were a "magical experience" despite the heat, hunger, leeches and personality clashes.

"It’s been the most memorable time I’ve ever had in my life," he added.

He admitted he found PR guru Lynne Franks "completely objectionable" but said he also made some "very close" friends in the camp.

The chef said former model Janice Dickinson, who has wound up several of the other contestants, was "as mad as a March hare" but he "really liked her".

"She’s a bonkers, mental, outspoken, loud, camera-hogging diva show-off, and a complete mental case," he said.

John and former boyband member Jason "J" Brown earlier completed the Dreadful Drop Bushtucker Trial.

They were put in a closed box suspended over a creek and had to winch themselves along a rope using a hand crank.

When they guessed they were directly over one of three stars, they pressed a button to project themselves into the water. The pair managed to hit the smallest star twice, winning six meals for the celebrities.

Biography

Michelin Star chef John Burton rose to fame on the back of his television series French Leave.

Born in Singapore he spent his early years travelling and developing a taste for international cuisine, before moving to the UK where he took positions at establishments such as Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons. In 2000 he took over The Landmark London Hotel during which time he won his two stars.

Throughout 2002 and 2003 John took to the French side of the Channel during the filming of French Leave, on his return he bought a restaurant and hotel in Dartmouth - it was awarded a Michelin star in 2005.

In 2007 he became a mentor on the BBC cooking show Kitchen Criminals.
November 2007

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