Alan Rosenthal

Alan Rosenthal is the author of Foolproof One-Pot and Foolproof Veggie One-Pot. A lifelong foodie, his passion particularly fuelled by years of traveling and of living in France and Spain, where he worked private cheffing and in hotel restaurants, acquiring the apparently oxymoronic moniker of "the English boy who can cook"! After graduating in modern languages from St. Andrew's University in 1999, he worked for the famous Spanish food importers, deli and tapas bar Brindisa; and, during this period, returned to Spain to study to be a professional jamón Iberico carver (a highly prized skill, on which competitions are held throughout Spain and on which he also reported for Radio 4's The Food Programme). Two years in Australia followed, where he drew on South East Asian influences, reveling in the fresh produce and abundant markets there, and further developed the global signature, which would characterise stewed! Alan returned to England in 2006 to work in DVD product management for a national retailer and to plot stew domination after a stew-reka moment on the Circle Line in 2007, when he realized that there was a gap in the market between ready meal and soup. He swiftly quit his job to study at Leiths School of Food and Wine in April 2007, then cut his 'posh nosh' teeth in Michelin starred Chez Bruce and Pied à Terre and at Providores, and by April 2008 was selling his first pot of premium stew on Alexandra Palace farmers' market in North London. Within a year he was outsourcing production and being stocked by selected Budgens, Waitrose stores, a clutch of independents and on ocado.com. " Healthy, hearty stew. Our new favourite is stewed! by Alan Rosenthal ... an intense, slow-cooked flavour, at least two of your 5-a-day and recipes like Hungarian Goulash and Moroccan chicken, even Delia's given them her seal of approval" Top Santé magazine April 2011 By 2010, stewed! was available across the length and breadth of the UK, including 280 selected Sainsbury's stores; and the range had grown to a six-strong family of premium, internationally inspired, grab-and-go stews, at the vanguard of the current one-pot meal revolution and at the centre of a barrage of relentlessly positive reviews and national press coverage. Rosenthal was quickly recognized as a burgeoning cooking talent, with a particular specialism and understanding of the potential within the underrated technique of one-pot cooking; and has been responsible for giving stew a much-deserved, contemporary make-over. A commission from Ebury Press to write the stewed! cookbook naturally resulted, and 80 Irresistible Stews and One-Pot Wonder was launched in October 2010 to rave reviews. The book was later republished under the title, Ultimate One Pot Dishes. In the post stewed! era, Alan Rosenthal, has established himself as a respected authority within his field, taking on a role as Head of Food with Picturehouse Cinemas in 2012, setting the strategy and being instrumental in the development of their food propositions; from cafés and restaurants to an overhaul of products within their cinema kiosks. Most notably, he masterminded the cafés and restaurants in the flagship Picturehouse Central which opened in June 2015. He then went on to head up the food team at Gousto and more recently took on a new position at Gail’s bakeries. In 2019, thanks to the success the of Ultimate One Pot Dishes, Quadrille Publishing commissioned him to write Foolproof One Pot which was released in 2021. Following the book’s great reception he was then commissioned once again to write Foolproof Veggie One Pot which will be out in October 2022. Alan's recipes have been regularly published by the national press, including a multiple page spread in The Times, who also featured him alongside seven chefs, including Blumenthal, under the banner "The UK's top foodies"; and he is repeatedly called on to run sell-out courses on one-pot cooking at the likes of Leith’s, Books for Cooks and JW3. Alan has been used by the broadcast media for his charismatic, relaxed and knowledgeable manner, appearing, for example, as a guest judge on the Good Food Channel's cookery show, Perfect; and holding together three hours of chat while cooking (and paying the fiddle!) on Nick Coffer's Weekend Kitchen on BBC Three Counties.