Marco Pierre White was born in Leeds in 1961. After training in Britain's finest kitchens, he opened Harveys, which earned two Michelin stars and was London's most talked-about restaurant. From there, he went on to win a third star and build a gastronomic empire that includes many of the most acclaimed restaurants in the U.K. In 1999, he retired from the kitchen and handed back his Michelin stars, but he maintains his presence in the culinary world with Luciano and the Frankie's restaurants, among others. He lives in West London with his wife, Mati, and their three children. He also has a daughter by his first wife.

As a gossip columnist in the late eighties, James Steen phoned Harveys to speak with Marco Pierre White. A Maitre d' answered the phone and ranted on in a strong French accent about how White was "a monster, a crazy man, a lunatic to work for." The "matre d'," it transpired was White. The relationship went from there.

Steen, a freelance journalist, lives a short stroll from what was once Harveys, with his wife Louise, and three children, Charlie, Billy, and Daisy.