Cooked By John Burton- Race

19 August 2013

Multi Award Wining chef John Burton-Race launches Irish Artisan Ready Meals with the Announcement of 35 jobs.

Celebrity chef John Burton-Race has launched his new 100 percent Irish made, premium range of ready-meals 'Cooked by John Burton-Race' in Dublin today.

Burton-Race is a member of a very exclusive group of world-class talented chefs who have been awarded two highly coveted Michelin Stars.

Now, this well know television personality, made famous by I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here and the BBC One’s ‘ Chefs, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’ is investing in Ireland with a new range of luxury ready-meals produced in Galway.

The move has already been responsible for the direct and indirect employment of more than 35 staff and there are plans to increase that number to more than 60 in the coming months.

John’s passion for food spans four decades; his ability to reach a level of complexity of flavour, texture, quality and standard has never been seen before in a ready meal.

John has joined forces with Galway food company Galmere Fresh Foods to produce his range of delicious ready meals featuring soups, salads and sides under the brand ‘Cooked by John Burton-Race’.

The ‘Cooked by John Burton-Race’ range is now available in Dunnes Stores, Spar, Eurospar, Mace and Londis stores here in Ireland and is currently negotiating contracts to export to Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom in September. 

The value of this business to the food and agricultural sector is considerable and is greatly welcomed by the people of Galway.

John Burton-Race- who is also a brand ambassador and consultant for the Irish Dairy Board-said: “I am very excited about this new venture. This is a premium product which is perfect for those who want to enjoy luxury dining at home without the premium cost. I have long held a deep love for Irish produce and quality ingredients. Our intention is to make Cooked By John Burton-Race  appeal to everyone by adding some of my signature dishes from around the world to the range. We are launching with beef, chicken and fish dishes but have already developed another 10 recipe's which will be on shelves soon.

Background to John Burton Race:

Burton-Race was born in Singapore, where his father worked as a UN diplomat. He spent much of his early childhood travelling around the world, experiencing different cuisines.

His love for food led him to become an apprentice chef, and he spent his early career in restaurants in the south of England, including Quaglino's at Hotel Meurice in London and La Sorbonne in Oxford. In the early 1980s, he worked with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire. He was promoted to sous chef before being asked to run Le Petit Blanc, Blanc's new restaurant in Oxford. It was there, at 28, that Burton Race won his first Michelin star.

By 1986, he got the courage and opportunity to go it alone, and opened L'Ortolan in Berkshire, where he won two Michelin stars and a host of other awards.

In 2002 John moved to France for a year and was the subject of a very successful Channel 4 documentary called "French Leave.

Burton-Race no longer runs restaurants but acts as a consultant for companies in the UK, Italy and the Middle East.

His latest reality-television appearance will be in the Channel 5 series Celebrity Super Spa, which will be broadcast from next month.

The meals- for-one are currently stocked in Dunnes Stores, Eurospar, Londis, Spar, Mace and Fresh outlets retailing at €4.99