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Grace Dent is a columnist, author, broadcaster and the restaurant critic for The Guardian.
She has also provided two weekly columns for The Independent; an opinion-editorial column and ‘Grace Dent on TV’, as well as contributing to her restaurant column ‘Grace & Flavour’ for The London Evening Standard for almost seven years.
She is best known for appearing on Masterchef (1990-) as a guest food critic. She may have mastered her intimidating personality for the television, but her warm personality, down-to-earth nature and wonderful sense of humour place joy at the heart of all she does.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book Food Critic and Host Grace Dent for your next event.
WRITING
Grace Dent first dipped her toe into the world of journalism whilst she was still at University, writing features for Cosmopolitan magazine, before moving to Marie Claire as their editorial assistant. When she was 25, she became a freelance journalist, contributing to magazines such as Glamour and More! Between 1998 and 2000, she worked for the Daily Mirror newspaper where she wrote about international current affair topics.
This was also the same time she began writing for The Guardian. She started by writing topical pieces and columns about her likes and dislikes, including ‘World of Lather’, celebrating her love for Coronation Street (1960-). From 2010-2012, she wrote ‘Grace Dent’s TV-OD’. In 2012, she signed a joint deal with The Independent and The London Evening Standard. She then became The Guardian’s restaurant critic in 2018. Her journalism won her the Reviewer of the Year award at the 2017 London Restaurant Festival.
TV AND RADIO
Grace Dent has fronted documentaries for Sky Atlantic, Channel 4 and W. She has interviewed Game of Thrones (1996) author George RR Martin as well as presenting Thronecast (2011-2019) where celebrities analyse the TV show adaptation of the same name.
She is a regular guest on panel shows including Have I Got News For You (1990-), The Culture Show (2004-2015), Pointless Celebrities (2010-), The Apprentice (2005-) and Best of British By The Sea (2022). She is also a famous face on cooking shows such as Masterchef UK, Masterchef: The Professionals (2008-), Celebrity Masterchef (2006-) and Great British Menu (2006-).
She fronted the Radio 4 Documentary Duration Duration Duration (2012) as well as a radio tribute to Nancy Mitford, and The Untold since 2016. These documentaries give a real insight into British lives when something important is on the line. The programme has been nominated for several Audio & Radio Industry Awards.
She also has her own podcast, Comfort Eating (with The Guardian) where she asks famous guests – including Stephen Fry and Craig David – what they eat when they’re home alone. The podcast was an instant success, sitting at the number one spot for over a month. She also appeared with food writer Felicity Cloake in an online live-stream event to discuss her memoir Hungry in 2020.
HOSTING AND JUDGING
Grace was the Creative Director for the Evening Standard’s London Food Month in 2017 alongside Tom Parker Bowles, which won the Best Debut Event award at the 2017 Event Awards.
In 2008 she was part of the judging panel for the Young Minds book awards, as well as a judge for the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize.
She regularly hosts corporate and private events for clients big and small, including BAFTA and Sky.
WRITING
Grace has written 11 novels for teenagers, one of which – Diary of a Snob (2009) – was acquired by Nickelodeon for adaptation. Her first non-fiction title How to Leave Twitter: My Time as Queen of the Universe and Why This Must Stop was released in 2011, followed by her memoir Hungry in 2020.
Grace has become a regular face on a number of topical shows, offering witty observations on current affairs. When she attends any corporate or private event, she brings this charismatic and humerous personality to occasions across the country, keeping audiences thoroughly entertained again and again.
At all of her speaking engagements, Grace can talk about her career, food, life in the public eye and can be trusted to keep your occasion on track as an event host.