Jennifer Paterson


Jennifer Mary Paterson was a British celebrity cook, author, actress and television personality who appeared on the television programme Two Fat Ladies with Clarissa Dickson Wright. Prior to this, she wrote a cookery column both for The Spectator and for The Oldie.
The pair were famous for their rich traditional meals made from scratch. Paterson was known for her liberal use of butter and cream, remarking on her television show in her usual manner with a shake of the hand, that yoghurt was only fit for vegetarians and those with "a poor tummy". They travelled to filming locations throughout the UK on Paterson's Triumph Thunderbird motorbike with Dickson Wright occupying the sidecar.

Early life and career

Paterson came from an Army family, of which she later wrote, "My mother had no idea of how to cook and no wish to learn, existing on gorgonzola, coffee, and chocolates after the demise of any form of servant. My father, having gone through two World Wars, was far too frightened to put on a kettle and my brothers, who married young to very good wives... never showed any signs of wanting to whip up something delicious for a treat."
Paterson was expelled from convent school at 15 for being disruptive. Paterson later worked at Padworth College, a girls' boarding school near Reading, where she rejoiced in the title of social secretary, before ending up as a cook for the Ugandan Legation in London and becoming a well-known figure on the London party circuit. She worked on the ITV show Candid Camera and later became a food writer for The Spectator; for 15 years, she provided weekly lunches for many prominent figures, including the Prince of Wales. She later wrote a book of recipes and reminiscences from her time at The Spectator entitled Feast Days, Recipes from The Spectator, in the introduction to which the English writer A. N. Wilson professed, "Jennifer Paterson is the best cook I know."

Personal life and death

Paterson was a staunch Roman Catholic who never married or had any children. Paterson was the niece of Anthony Bartlett, the last Gentiluomo of the Archbishop of Westminster. In about 1980 Paterson moved into Bartlett's flat at 180a Ashley Gardens, Emery Hill Street, which is within sight of Westminster Cathedral, and she lived there with him until her death. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in July 1999 and died a month later in London on 10 August 1999. Paterson asked for caviar for her last meal but she died before she could eat it. Following a traditional Requiem Mass, she was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium and her ashes were interred in the cemetery there.
Paterson was a parishioner of the London Oratory, and in her will she left a bequest to fund their choir programme.

Forewords written

The Two Fat Ladies DVD set contains a 40-minute BBC tribute to Paterson that aired in 1999. The DVD box set was released in the United States in July 2008. The Acorn Media release contains all 24 episodes across four discs. The show had been released in Britain as a Region 2 DVD set.