Originally from Brittany, France, Richard Bertinet trained as a baker from the age of fourteen. Having moved to the UK in the 1980s, he is now very much an Anglophile.
With twenty years’ experience in the kitchen, baking, consulting and teaching, Richard moved to Bath in 2005 to open The Bertinet Kitchen cookery school. The school attracts people from all over the world to participate in Richard’s classes and has been highly praised, including recognition by US Gourmet magazine and the television series Adventures with Ruth [Reichl], in which it featured as one of the best cookery schools in the world.
As well as instilling passion through his teaching, Richard works as a consultant for major manufacturers developing speciality products throughout the industry.
The Bertinet Bakery started life as a weekly pop-up shop above the cookery school in 2007 but has grown to a much larger affair, producing breads and pastries for restaurants, hotels and food stores in the South West. It also supplies the bakery’s own shops in Bath, with more to come further afield. The bakery’s signature sourdough loaf was the winner of the Soil Association’s award for Best Baked Good in 2010 and 2011.
Richard’s first book, Dough, received a host of accolades, including the Guild of Food Writers’ Best First Book Award, the Julia Child Award for Best First Book, a James Beard Award for Best Book Baking & Desserts and the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookery Book of the Year Award. His second book, Crust, was also published to critical acclaim and received a World Gourmand Award. His third book, COOK, focused on many of the dishes taught at the cookery school. His most recent book, Pastry, was published in 2012.
Richard was named BBC Food Champion of the Year 2010 at the BBC Food & Farming Awards. For more information about Richard, The Bertinet Kitchen and The Bertinet Bakery, visit www.bertinet.com.