William Sitwell

William Ronald Sacheverell Sitwell DL (born 2 October 1969) is a British editor, writer and broadcaster. He is also a restaurant critic for The Daily Telegraph and the former editor of Waitrose Food.

William Sitwell
Born
William Ronald Sacheverell Sitwell

(1969-10-02) 2 October 1969
London, England
EducationEton College
Alma materUniversity of Kent
Occupation(s)Editor, columnist
EmployerThe Daily Telegraph
RelativesSir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th Baronet (grandfather)
Sir George Sitwell, 8th Baronet (brother)

Life and work

Sitwell is the younger son of Francis Trajan Sacheverell Sitwell (1935–2004) and the grandson of writer and critic Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th Baronet. He is the great-nephew of writer Sir Osbert Sitwell, 5th Baronet and of poet and critic Dame Edith Sitwell. He is the heir presumptive to the Sitwell Baronetcy currently held by his elder brother Sir George Sitwell, 8th Baronet.[1][2][3][4] He was educated at Eton College and the University of Kent, where he 'wrote a stupid kind of gossip column in the student newspaper.'[5][6]

He is a regular on MasterChef UK as a quarter final judge. He sets the brief for one group of quarter finalists and acts as the third judge alongside John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

He has written several internationally successful books on food: Eggs or Anarchy: The Remarkable Story of the Man Tasked with the Impossible: to Feed a Nation at War (2016), A History of Food in 100 Recipes (2017), The Really Quite Good British Cookbook (2017), and The Restaurant: A 2,000-Year History of Dining Out (2020).[7]

Controversy

In 2018 freelance journalist Selene Nelson emailed Sitwell, suggesting features on vegan-friendly recipes. Sitwell replied "How about a series on killing vegans, one by one. Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly? Expose their hypocrisy? Force-feed them meat?".

After Nelson made Sitwell's response public, Sitwell resigned.[8][9] The row caused much controversy over free speech and whether making an offensive joke was a sackable offence.[10] Sitwell later met Nelson in person to apologise.[11] He has since joined The Daily Telegraph as a restaurant critic, and hosts a dining programme with the paper called William Sitwell's Supper Club.[12][13] In April 2020 he appeared as a guest in an episode of the MasterChef TV programme, challenging contestants to produce "a plant-based dish".[14]

In 2019 Sitwell wrote in the Daily Telegraph that 104 Restaurant Notting Hill, a restaurant he reviewed, had made threatening calls to him.[15] Richard Wilkins, the chef of 104 Restaurant Notting Hill, took umbrage with William’s views in the Telegraph & took Sitwell to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which found that after an investigation, the newspaper accurately reported the situation and did not breach its policies.[16] [17] Ultimately, all charges were dismissed.[18]

Personal life

Sitwell is godfather to Mary, daughter of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.[19]

References
  1. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 3, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3653
  2. Sansom, Ian (6 May 2011). "Great dynasties of the world: The Sitwells". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  3. Sitwell, William (11 March 2011). "Edith Sitwell, eccentric genius". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  4. Latham, Laura (9 June 2019). "Inside William Sitwell's historic family home". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  5. Sitwell, William (2 October 2019). "Eton's Tory alumni are part and parcel of what makes my old school so great". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  6. "William Sitwell: My Life in Media". The Independent. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. "William Sitwell books and biography | Waterstones". waterstones.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. "Waitrose Food editor quits over vegan row". 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  9. Waterson, Jim (31 October 2018). "Waitrose magazine editor quits after joke about killing vegans". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  10. Williams, Zoe (31 October 2018). "Why William Sitwell's vegan mockery is not a sackable offence | Zoe Williams". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  11. Sitwell, William (5 January 2019). "William Sitwell meets the woman who called him out for 'vegan-killing' comments: This time I'd 'gone too far'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  12. "'Killing vegans' ex-editor joins Telegraph". 3 January 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  13. "The Telegraph presents William Sitwell's Supper Club – Telegraph Events". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  14. "BBC MasterChef, Series 16 Episode 9". Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  15. Sitwell, William (11 July 2019). "When chefs bite back: 'As soon as my restaurant review appeared, the threats started…'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  16. "Restaurant Critic Accuses London Chef of Threatening Behaviour After Negative Review". 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  17. "Critic Cleared of Press Harassment After Reporting Harassment by London Chef". 4 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. "06020-19 Wilkins v The Daily Telegraph". Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  19. "Jacob Rees-Mogg on Instagram: "Mary wearing her Christmas present from her kind godfather, William Sitwell. On the whole I think one of me is enough."". Instagram. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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