Glynn Christian was born in Auckland New Zealand and is an Old Boy of Owairaka Primary School, Wesley Intermediate School and Mt Albert Grammar School.

Glynn’s career began in shipping and travel, working particularly with the luxurious cruise liners ss Mariposa and ss Monterey of Matson Lines. He then moved to Inglis Wright Advertising.

In 1963, when just 21, he was solely responsible for writing, producing and directing the agency’s radio and Tv commercials. His clients included such international brands as Schweppes, Nivea, Helena Rubinstein and Elastoplast.

Radio and TV commercials he wrote and directed for Tip-Top Ice-cream’s Tip-Top Trumpet, starring celebrity Max Cryer, won awards and are still widely remembered.

He came to Swinging London in 1965 and in 1966 appeared on BBC-TV’s JACKANORY, telling stories from his family tree.

From 1967 he worked as copywriter for the Kiwi showbusiness PR company Matthew West and Associates (Matthew West, Bryan Southcombe and Judith Heard). This led to becoming the principal brochure writer for Clarksons Holidays, the company that largely pioneered the inclusive jet-holiday. His many years of almost constant travel for them were how he discovered ‘my special gift – tell me something about food and I will remember it, just as others remember football teams and cricket scores. It’s done me well!’

In 1968 he wrote HER PRIVATE HELL, the UK’s first successful ‘blue’ movie that also had general release and that has now been re-released on DVD by the British Film Institute.

MR CHRISTIAN’S PROVISIONS was co-founded in 1974 with Tim Dawson at 11 Elgin Crescent, where Portobello Rd’s antique and vintage stalls become a fruit and vegetable market.

The delicatessen is credited with changing the face of specialty food shops in the UK and this, plus the influence of his unprecedented DELICATESSEN FOOD HANDBOOK (1982) on both retailers and consumers, were important factors in Glynn being awarded a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD by the Guild of Fine Food in 2008.

MR CHRISTIAN’S was a pioneer, selling ingredients from many countries rather than specialising, as had most delis until then. Under Glynn’s direction the shop made a point of supporting such new UK businesses as Loseley Park, Justin de Blank breads, Aspall apple juice, New England Ice cream, The Tracklement Company, Harvey and Brockless (cheese) and many more.

From selling just 10 cheeses under previous management, it quickly stocked over 60, including unpasteurised French cheeses. A kitchen was installed and as well as Glynn’s soon famed Farmhouse, Game, Duck and Smoked Salmon Pates, the shop introduced ready-made meals as early as 1976. Duck with Sweet and Sour Cherries was a special hit. Equally famous was authentic, very-deep-crust Neapolitan pizza, made daily by Maria: ‘the way it was when we grew up – we could afford the flour for the base and the olive oil because we grew them. It was the toppings we couldn’t afford’.

Very quickly Glynn was commissioned to write CHEESE & CHEESEMAKING (MacDonald) and an interview on LBC Radio led to broadcasting weekly with the famous AM team of Bob Holness and Douglas Cameron. His unique style of basing each segment on ingredient knowledge and then a recipe, rather than just a recipe, built up a huge following; Friday morning listenership was said to rise at least 10% when he was on. He is credited as first to talk about phyllo pastry, orange-flower water and rose water and his broadcast introducing pink peppercorns is still remembered – it is said taxi drivers stopped in the morning rush to write down the details.

In 1979 Glynn was commissioned to write FRAGILE PARADISE, the first biography of Fletcher Christian, leader of the 1789 mutiny on BOUNTY, who is his great-great-great-great grandfather. His international research meant circling the globe twice (not even faxes then) and included a 10-week sailing expedition to remote Pitcairn Island, where the mutineers secretly made a home with their Polynesian partners. The BOUNTY INHERITANCE, a documentary about his explorations and discoveries was commissioned for BBC-2’s The World About Us. Subsequently, he was interviewed on BBC-TV Pebble Mill at One as an explorer and mentioned his upcoming book about new food ingredients to researcher the late Steve Weddle, to whom most of Glynn’s subsequent media career is owed.

Days after his 40^th birthday on Jan 1^st 1982, Glynn appeared live on PEBBLE MILL at ONE, beginning a short series explaining and exploring such new ingredients on the market as farmed salmon. Saying ‘You’ll be a star!’, the powerful and well-loved BBC radio presenter Terry Wogan introduced him to his powerful agent.

Later that year Glynn presented A COOK’S TOUR for BBC-2.  This first food-based TV series made entirely on location was shot unscripted during an Eastern Mediterranean cruise on P&O’s Sea Princess and included sequences in Cairo, Jerusalem, Istanbul and several Greek Islands.

That year FRAGILE PARADISE – The Discovery of Fletcher Christian, BOUNTY Mutineer, THE DELICATESSEN FOOD HANDBOOK  and GET FRESH with GLYNN CHRISTIAN were published. Sadly he also lost a great mentor and supporter, through the death of the multi-cookbook author Marika Hanbury-Tenison.

From January 17^th, 1983 Glynn pioneered food and cookery broadcasts three mornings a week as Chef and Food Reporter for BBC BREAKFAST TIME. Again he promoted ingredients and producers, introducing countless new products and ideas, from yellow peppers to apple segmenters and New Zealand wines, a contribution to national knowledge and enjoyment unaccountably overlooked on most related websites. When Frank Bough famously interrupted Glynn while using orange-flower water, saying ‘They can’t get that in Blackburn’, a viewer immediately rang in to say: ‘Yes we can, Frank, but we don’t know what to do with it, so stop interrupting!’

As one of the first celebrity TV cooks, Glynn’s popularity led to many book commissions and countless personal appearances from opening Motorway Cafes to unprecedented double appearances or more at the Royal Highland Show and the BBC Good Food Show, at the Ideal Home Show and to regular speaking and demonstrating on ships, including Maxim Gorky, Sea Princess, QE2 and Saga Rose.

In 1984 he was a Founder Committee member of the UK Guild of Food Writers.

From 1985 he was ELLE UK’s first food editor, subsequently writing weekly for many years for THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH again basing articles on ingredient knowledge and their proper use.

On television he was also appearing as a guest with Esther Rantzen on ‘That’s Life’, Cilla Black on ‘Surprise, Surprise’ and with Noel Edmonds as the Crinkly Bottom chef, as well as making food and cookery series for both BBC-TV and ITV all around the world.

In 1987 Glynn opened KITCHENCLASS, the world’s first cookery school using TV-cameras and screens. Amongst many celebrity chefs who first cooked for cameras there were Gary Rhodes, The Roux Brothers and Mark Gregory.

An updated Delicatessen Food Handbook, REAL FLAVOURS – The Handbook of Gourmet and Deli Ingredients, was voted World’s Best Food Guide at the 2007 Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards.

After working for many years with Bob Farrand, Glynn assisted with setting up the Guild of Fine Foods and the Great Taste Awards, which he named and that is now the biggest and most revered standard for specialty foods in the world, attracting over 10,000 entries annually.

Glynn pioneered food and cookery presenting on QVC UK and then became Senior Presenter at TVSN, Sydney Australia. In New Zealand he created Culinary Walks for the NZ Herald and wrote for CANVAS magazine and NZ Gardener.

Since his return to the UK, Glynn continued to judge for The Great Taste Awards and has been an Official Guide and Welcome Ambassador at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Based on his life-changing experience of treatment for prostate-cancer Glynn promotes knowledge of the dangers of Testosterone-Poverty in all ageing men with his book the HRT IMPERATIVES for MEN and with new editions of previous books.