Ken Hom CBE is the man who showed the British how to cook Asian food. A leading authority on Chinese cuisine, he is one of the most respected and celebrated TV chefs of all time. His phenomenal success is easily measured. He is the author of almost 40 books, which have inspired millions of home cooks around the world. And in Britain alone, the Ken Hom wok is found in one in seven kitchens.

A major national profile on him, published in the New York Times in 1981, coincided with the publication of his first book on Chinese Cookery Techniques, first commissioned in 1978, to much acclaim. Soon after the BBC contacted him, producing his first UK television series in 1984 Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery, which bore the same title as the book accompanying the series, that many still regard as the ‘bible’. The show introduced and demystified Chinese cooking for the UK over 40 years ago, and was an instant hit, broadcast throughout the world. The book sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide making publishing history by being the first non-fiction book with a first printing of 350,000. In 2009, the BBC celebrated the 25th anniversary of the book, which to this day continues to be a top-seller after more than three decades in print.

Ken presented a further six television series – Hot Chefs, Ken Hom’s Hot Wok, Ken Hom’s Foolproof Chinese Cookery, Travels with a Hot Wok and Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure, attracting millions of viewers.  He also presented a documentary on the origins of the noodle, ‘The Noodle Road’. This documentary series for KBS (Korean Broadcasting Service) was a huge success when broadcasted in early 2009 and was sold to over 25 countries around the world, winning several awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award in 2010.

In November 2014 he released Truffles, the updated version of his book ‘Truffes’ first written in French in 2000 with Pierre-Jean Pebeyre of France’s legendary Pebeyre truffle family. The book won the Gourmand Award 2014 for ‘Best Mushroom Book’ category – USA. In 2023, the book was published in Chinese.

His most recent book is his autobiography ‘My Stir Fried Life’ which was translated into Chinese and launched in China in November 2019 and in Thai in 2024.The book is a high-spirited, life-enriching feast where the chopsticks never stop clattering, the platters are always abundant, and dreams – no matter how ridiculously unbelievable – can and do come true.