Marguerite Patten
| Marguerite Patten | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Hilda Elsie Marguerite Brown 4 November 1915 Bath, Somerset, England, UK |
| Died | 4 June 2015 (aged 99) Richmond, London, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Home economist, food writer and broadcaster |
| Notable work | Everyday Cook Book in Colour (1961) |
| Spouse(s) | Bob Patten (1942–97, his death) |
| Children | 1 |
Hilda Elsie Marguerite Patten CBE (née Brown; 4 November 1915 – 4 June 2015), was an English home economist, food writer and broadcaster.
Born in Bath, Somerset, she was raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, where she won a scholarship to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for Girls (now Queen Elizabeth's School for Girls). Patten was 12 when she began to cook for her mother and younger brother and sister, when her father who was a printer died and her mother had to return to work as a teacher. She later explained that while she was not the primary cook for the family, she did take an interest in cooking from that age onwards. She then worked as an actress in repertory theatre for nine months, and for Frigidaire, promoting the benefits of the refrigerator, as a senior home economist.
During World War II, she worked for the Ministry of Food suggesting nourishing and inventive recipes using the rationed food that was available. She broadcast her ideas and advice to the nation on a BBC radio programme called the Kitchen Front. When the war ended, she demonstrated kitchen appliances for Harrods, including the pressure cooker which her work popularised in the UK.
She was one of the earliest TV 'celebrity chefs' – a description with which she disagreed saying "I am NOT! To the day I die I'll be a home economist", presenting her first television cookery programme on the BBC in 1947. However, Marguerite seemed to have relaxed this stand later in life, describing herself as "the first Television Cook in Britain." She appeared on television some eight years before Fanny Cradock, whom she disliked and called a "bully" but whose ability to cook she appreciated. Patten did cookery demonstrations, once touring the world and also appearing at the London Palladium on 12 occasions.
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