Thomasina Miers
Thomasina Jean "Tommi" Miers, OBE (born February 1976) is an English cook, writer and television presenter. She is the co-founder of the Wahaca chain of Mexican street food restaurants.
Thomasina Miers OBE | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomasina Jean Miers February 1976 (age 44) Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | St Paul's Girls' School |
| Alma mater | Ballymaloe Cookery School |
| Occupation | cook, writer and television presenter |
| Known for | Founder of Wahaca, Winner of UK Masterchef (2005) |
| Spouse(s) | Mark Williams |
| Children | 3 daughters |
| Parent(s) | Probyn and Niki Miers |
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Early life
Thomasina Jean "Tommi" Miers was born in February 1976[1] in Cheltenham,[2] the daughter of (Michael) Probyn Miers, a joiner and furniture maker,[3] formerly a management consultant[4][5] and Niki Miers, of Guiting Power, Cheltenham.[6][7] She grew up in "a big rambling house" at Acton, West London.[8] The Miers family, landed gentry originally of Aldingham, Cumbria (then in Lancashire), owned the Ynyspenwllch estate in Glamorganshire until the time of her grandfather, Cmdr Richard Eustace Probyn Miers, RN.[9] Miers has a twin brother, Dighton, and a sister, Talulah.[10][8]
She studied at St Paul's Girls' School and Ballymaloe Cookery School and worked as a freelance cook and writer, with influences from time spent in Mexico.[11]
Career
In 2005, Miers won the BBC TV cookery competition MasterChef, "impressing judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her bold and, at times, eccentric cooking style".[12]
She has made two series of cookery programmes for Channel 4 with co-presenter Guy Grieve: Wild Gourmets[13] in 2007 and A Cook's Tour of Spain in 2008.[14] In 2011, she presented Mexican Food Made Simple for Channel 5.[15]
She is co-editor with Annabel Buckingham of the cookbook Soup Kitchen (with an introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall). She has also written Cook: Smart Seasonal Recipes for Hungry People,[16] The Wild Gourmets: Adventures in Food and Freedom, with Guy Grieve,[17] and Mexican Food Made Simple.[18]
Miers co-founded Wahaca, which became a chain of Mexican "street food" restaurants, alongside Mark Selby in 2006.[19] The company opened its first restaurant in London's Covent Garden in August 2007[20] and in October 2008 a second opened at Westfield London.[21] In 2011, Wahaca launched their first mobile street kitchen, selling Mexican street food on the streets of London.[22] As of December 2017, Wahaca had 25 branches.[23]
Personal life
Miers is married to Mark Williams, a fund manager at Liontrust Asset Management[24] and they have three daughters.[6][25]
References
- "Wahaca Grocery Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- "The Independent: "My Secret Life: Thomasina Miers, chef & food broadcaster"". Independent.co.uk. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- Elliot, Liz. "An Artist's Cosy 18th-Century Barn". House & Garden. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "MR MICHAEL PROBYN MIERS director information". Company Check. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "Mr Michael Probyn Miers - Director Profile". Endole. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "The Telegraph.co.uk: Engagement Announcements". Announcements.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- Cheltenham-born chef, founder of Wahaca Mexican restaurant chain
- "My secret life: Thomasina Miers". The Independent. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- Burke's Landed Gentry, eighteenth edition, vol. 2, 1969, p. 433, "Miers formerly of Ynyspenllwch" pedigree
- Higgins, Ria (2 November 2014). "A Life in the Day: Thomasina Miers, MasterChef winner turned restaurateur". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "Profile at agalinks". Agalinks.com. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- "BBC Food profile". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- "Wild Gourmets". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- "A Cook's Tour of Spain". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- "Mexican Food Made Simple". Channel 5. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- HarperCollins, 2005, ISBN 0-00-722937-2
- Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-9157-3
- Hodder, 2010, ISBN 978-0-340-99497-9
- Campbell, Scott (7 May 2014). "Wahaca owner's recipe for success". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "Wahaca". Caterersearch. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- "Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers to launch second Wahaca". Caterersearch. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- Wahaca Mexican restaurant chain
- "Locations - Wahaca". Wahaca. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- "The Asia team - Who we are - Liontrust Asset Management PLC". www.liontrust.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- Urwin, Rosamund (30 January 2017). "Wahaca co-founder Thomasina Miers on Donald Trump, tacos and norovirus". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
External links
| Preceded by Rosa Baden-Powell |
Masterchef UK champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Peter Bayless |