Who Is Gizzi Erskine ?

Many people are very surprised to hear that Gizzi Erskine was a professional body piercer in Camden before realising her life-long dream of being a chef. It wasn't until the age of 23 that, after 7 years of working in Cold Steel in Camden, Gizzi hung up her piercing tools and trained at the prestigious Leith's School of Food and Wine in 2003. She graduated the top of her year and went on to win a placement at BBC Good Food magazine, where she started to establish herself as an award winning food writer and stylist. During her first years at catering school she cheffed her way through many kitchens and started her own catering company with friend, Abbey Dempsey.

A career in TV started with the popular C4 primetime show, COOK YOURSELF THIN, which went onto a 2nd series in 2009, this time with Gizzi as the only host. With C4 firmly backing this exciting new talent, she has since appeared in IRON CHEF, COOKERY SCHOOL and DROP DOWN MENU for the channel.

As a food writer, Gizzi is a Contributing Editor for InStyle, writing a monthly column on food and culture. She also contributes to Sunday Times Style and Fabulous Magazine, and has written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers such as Marie Claire, Elle, Elle USA, Vogue USA, GQ, The Times and The Evening Standard.

GIZZI'S KITCHEN MAGIC, published by Virgin Books in 2009, was her first solo book and received critical acclaim during its release. Gizzi was the co -author of the hit cookbook COOK YOURSELF THIN, author of MY KITCHEN TABLE: 100 FOOLPROOF RECIPES and has also contributed to COOKERY SCHOOL by Richard Corrigan. Not one to rest on her laurels, her next book is currently being written due for release winter 2012/13

Always at the forefront of any trend, Gizzi was one of the first to back the trend of the pop-up restaurant scene having opened 4 pop-ups in the past 3 years; one with Innocent Smoothies at the Tramshed in Shoreditch, one at Clarence House in association with START the sustainability charity, a Tiki lounge at Bestival and an East London gourmet pie shop. She has cheffed at many supper clubs for guests like Boy George, Adam Ant, Sadie Frost, Pearl Lowe, Carl Barrat and Grace Woodward.

Gizzi's edgy attitude has caught the attention of the fashion world and she regularly makes the fashion pages of the UK's style press. She has effortless style, unmistakably 60's with a Rockabilly twist, which has struck a chord with the public, helping her bridge the gap between food and fashion.