James Tanner

James Tanner (born 28 November 1976) is an English chef and television personality, best known for co-owning the Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth and cooking on various TV programmes.

In 1999, Tanner and his brother Chris set up Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth. Since then, he has appeared on the BBC cookery programme Ready Steady Cook and more recently the ITV Breakfast programme Lorraine.

The third of four brothers, Tanner was born in Maidstone, Kent.

Tanner began his catering career, preparing salads and starters, in "Brookers Oast" a Whitbread Brewers Fayre in Kent in the early 1990s After studying hotel management he worked in the kitchens of several restaurants, often with his older brother, fellow celebrity chef Chris Tanner. Tanner worked his way up through the ranks until he was invited by the Roux brothers, Michel and Albert, to move to the US and work in upstate New York, where he was Chef de partie at the Lake Placid Lodge. Within four months, he was promoted to junior Sous-chef.

Tanner worked his way up the ranks and on returning to England took a job under Martin Blunos at the two Michelin-starred restaurant Lettonie in Bath before a Head Chef role at Right on the Green in Kent.

In 1999, aged 23, Tanner and his brother opened Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth. The restaurant closed in October 2014.

In Spring 2006, the Tanner brothers opened a second restaurant in Plymouth, The Barbican Kitchen, a brasserie sited within the Plymouth Gin Distillery, a 500-year-old building in the heart of Plymouth's oldest area, The Barbican.