Ross Burden, who has died aged 45 after undergoing treatment for leukaemia, was a celebrity chef who espoused the virtues of using local seasonal produce. He first came to public attention as a contestant in the TV cookery competition MasterChef, then became a regular on the BBC series Ready Steady Cook and a favourite private chef of stars such as Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Known for his charm as much as for the culinary skills he had learned from his grandmother as a child, he was once dubbed "the tastiest man in Britain".
Born in Taradale, in the Hawke's Bay region of North Island, New Zealand, he was adopted by Kelvin Burden, an electrician, and his wife, Anne, and described his childhood as idyllic. He told a New Zealand magazine: "As a kid, we had a bach [beach house] in Mahia. We'd have breakfast, then bugger off for the day, either to the beach or the swamp to catch frogs. A pocket knife, stick of bamboo and piece of string could keep you entertained for hours."
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