The River Cottage Team

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall

To read Hugh's biography, click here.

Gillon Meller, Head Chef, River Cottage HQ

Before joining Hugh to set up River Cottage HQ, Gillon had set up his own catering business with the help of the Princes Trust, providing clients with access to great local and seasonal cookery.

After meeting Hugh, Gill started working on the River Cottage series and simultaneously became involved in the running of the cookery school and the River Cottage HQ. Gill is now Head Chef and leads a team who produce the highest standard of local and seasonal food.

Mark runs Otter Farm, the UK’s only Climate Change Farm, home to orchards of ‘foreign’ foods including almonds, pecans, persimmons and apricots – as well as the olive grove.He’s hoping to take advantage of global warming to grow these crops and sustainably add them to the British larder, in so doing making these foods available to a local market without the heavy carbon load/food miles normally associated with them – a beautifully virtuous circle of working with climate change in a way that helps arrest its acceleration.

Mark is keen to spread the idea of climate change growing. He is in discussions to write the Otter Farm Climate Change Food Book, and is currently writing Kitchen Garden: River Cottage Handbook No.4 as part of the River Cottage Handbook series. He is also working closely with DEFRA, Forum for the Future and an emerging consortium of consultants, government agencies, European and New Zealand organisations with a view to developing international exchange and information programmes for climate change adaptation globally.

 Pam Corbin - Preserves Handbook author and Preserving expert

Pam Corbin has been making preserves for as long as she can remember. Having always created delicious jams and jellies for her family, she decided, over 20 years ago, to turn her passion into a business. Pam and her husband Hugh moved to Devon where they bought an old pig farm and converted it into a small jam factory. Here they spent their days making wonderful jams, jellies, curds and marmalades under the Thursday Cottage label. Always using good, wholesome, seasonal ingredients, their products soon became firm favourites with jam-lovers the world over.

Pam has now hung up her professional wooden spoon but continues to ‘jam’ at home. She also works closely with the River Cottage team, making seasonal goodies using fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers from her own garden, from Park Farm, and from the fields and hedgerows. Pam's book, Preserves, the second River Cottage Handbook  is available here.

Ray Smith, Butchery Expert

An extremely knowledgeable butcher, Ray Smith has over 40 years of experience, starting with his own butchers shop in Dorchester over 30 years ago. Ray makes butchery look so easy, because of the skill, finesse and ease with which he brings to the art. Ray leads our many butchery courses and is a regular contributor on ‘Hugh and Friends’. Ray also worked with Hugh on the River Cottage Meat Book and produced the very popular Pig in a Day DVD.

John Wright, Fungi Expert

John Wright’s passion for mushrooms and toadstools began aged 14, when he came across what turned out to be a Common Inkcap whilst on holiday in the New Forest. In 1980 John joined the British Mycological Society and in 1994, decided to share his accumulated knowledge of Fungi, teaching adult education classes in Dorchester. John now runs fungus forays for several organisations in and around Dorset.

John first appeared on the River Cottage TV series in 2001, taking Hugh on a (successful!) truffle hunt. Several TV episodes later, John is now a regular contributor at River Cottage HQ, running courses on mushroom foraging and edible seashore plants. John's own Mushrooms: River Cottage Handbook No.1 is now available, accompanied by the Mushroom Magic DVD and online course. John is now working on Edible Seashore: River Cottage Handbook No.5.

In addition to his foraging exploits, John runs his own business as a cabinet maker. He is married with two young daughters.

Fraser Christian, Skipper and Host

Fraser grew up in the south Cotswolds, where he developed a love of the outdoors and all things wild. After reaching the summit of Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike as a boy scout, he trained as a chef, qualifying with distinction. He worked professionally as a chef in various restaurants and country hotels, before spending time travelling around Europe and India.

On his return he moved to Sussex where he fell in love with the sea. He recently moved to Dorset to work as a skipper and fishing instructor, and is a host for both our Catch and Cook and Introduction to Fish Skills & Cookery courses. 

www.fish2fish.co.uk