With his spiked hairstyle and contemporary image, Rhodes was different from most chefs of the late 20th century - he had a reputation for being avant-garde. He travelled Europe in his youth, after attending catering college in Thanet, taking various jobs in hotels and restaurants to fund his travels and learn his craft.
© roger parkes / Alamy Stock Photo
Outstanding career
He honed his skills in numerous jobs, including a stint at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam, before returning to London as sous chef at the Reform Club in Pall Mall. Progressing to the Michelin-starred Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge, he then became head chef at Taunton's Castle Hotel, in Somerset, where he retained the venue's Michelin star when he was just 26.
Everything he touched turned to gold, from launching his chain of restaurants in places as diverse as the Calabash Hotel in Grenada, the Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa in the United Arab Emirates and on the P&O cruise liners Arcadia and Oriana. His TV career took off when he hosted MasterChef, Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef USA and Rhodes Around Britain.
Rhodes famously cooked for Princess Diana and Tom Hanks in 1995 at his Greenhouse restaurant in London - when they arrived for a surprise private meal following the premier of Hanks' film, Apollo 13. Rhodes was thrilled to be invited to dine with his VIP guests. This wasn't his only meeting with royalty - on 17th June 2006, he received the OBE for his dedication to cuisine.
Pizza passion
The London-born chef enthused about his travels as much as he did about food. Famous for his passion for pizza, he even travelled to Naples in Italy (the home of pizza) as part of a month-long globe-trotting trip to film a TV series about international food.
His stay in Naples in 2009 to sample the local cuisine left a lasting impression. Ten years later, Rhodes spoke of the mouth-watering pizza recipes in an interview with the Michelin Guide. He believed the secret to a great pizza was in the dough, saying its freshness was paramount to the finished product.
In the Michelin Guide interview, in April 2019, Rhodes described how the pizzas in Naples were always made with fresh dough, with fresh cherry tomato pulp spread over the base. He said this made it "explode with flavours".
The pizza was cooked in only three minutes, with the oven set to 600°C to puff up the soft, fluffy dough. According to Rhodes, the sides should be slightly overcooked for a "hint of bitterness".
He believed in "keeping it simple" when it came to pizzas. His own recipe for pizza tomato tart was deliberately easy, so that even amateur chefs could manage it.
The first rock star of cooking
After being taken ill during a break in filming his latest TV series, the popular chef died suddenly on 26th November 2019 in Dubai. He suffered a subdural haematoma after falling at home and hitting his head. Tributes from fellow chefs and fans poured in from all over the world for the chef known as the "first rock star of cooking".
Homemade pizza
If you're planning to have a go at making your own pizza, make sure you have the relevant cooking equipment to give yourself the best chance of success. Make sure you have a pizza container that will fit in a domestic fridge.
Ideally, a container with a lid will keep your dough and pizza fresh. Experts say that properly stored in a refrigerator, a cooked pizza should last three to four days without losing its flavour or texture.
Commercial kitchen
If you work in a commercial kitchen preparing pizzas, choose industry-leading food grade trays. A 12-litre pizza dough tray will cater for even the most prolific pizza-maker. Choose a smaller 10.1-litre tray if your needs are less, in terms of quantity.
A useful tip is to purchase trays made from extra-strong HDPE, as they are also suitable for storing in a freezer, down to a temperature of -40°C.
Every good chef needs to keep their ingredients as fresh as possible. For bulk ingredients, such as flour, use a large, airtight food storage bin - store the flour in its individual bags to keep it extra-fresh. Alternatively, choose airtight food grade buckets, ideal for ingredients storage.
For further information on our food storage solutions, give Solent Plastics a call on 01794 514478.