How Marco Pierre White’s White Heat launched a culinary revolution

MPW was the first of the rock 'n' roll chefs, and many followed in his flaming footsteps

Matt Tebbutt remembers exactly where he got his copy. I found it in Whiteleys in Bayswater," the chef and TV presenter says. I was 17 years old, and it just resonated. It was cool and sexy. It was all about the glamour and excess." Sat Bains, of the eponymous Michelin two-star in Nottingham, found his in a charity shop in the mid-90s. I read the whole book in an hour and my head exploded. Who was this guy? He had this rock'n'roll attitude." Chef Marianne Lumb says it's her bible"; Tom Kerridge describes it as a huge influence. The message is clear. For legions of chefs White Heat by Marco Pierre White isn't a cookbook, though it does contain recipes. It's a sacred text, only with added knives, flame and caviar.

For legions of chefs it's a sacred text, only with added knives, flame and caviar