Dean Edwards is a Bristol-born chef, best known for his role as a resident chef demonstrator on ITV’s breakfast show Lorraine. Dean’s cost-cutting and family-friendly recipes, cheeky personality and accessible approach to cooking have made him a firm favourite with viewers. 

Dean was a digger driver before he became a famous chef – his cooking career began when he finished in second place on BBC’s MasterChef in 2006. Since then, he has authored six cookbooks, appeared on a plethora of UK TV shows and amassed a huge social media following. 

Dean Edwards burst onto the chef circuit in 2006, when he came second on BBC’s MasterChef (then titled MasterChef Goes Large). To hone his skills, next Dean worked at the two Michelin-starred Midsummer House in Cambridge, before returning to his home city of Bristol. Dean then decided that he wanted to champion simple, achievable budget-friendly recipes that ordinary families could cook every day. 

“I truly believe that anyone can have success in the kitchen,” says Dean. “Food doesn’t have to be complicated.” Dean’s passion for food is infectious – his aim is to inspire home cooks up and down the country to get back into the kitchen and enjoy the cooking experience. The dad-of two takes inspiration from across the globe, but always uses ingredients that are familiar to most. Dean’s daughter Indie can often be seen on-screen with him, giving her verdict on his creations. Baby Ophelia is yet to have a cameo but we are sure that won’t be long. 

After the whirlwind of MasterChef, Dean made his TV chef debut on ITV’s This Morning in 2009, where his friendly personality left an impression on viewers. Then in 2010, he appeared on ITV’s Lorraine – . His family-friendly cooking style and easy going approach to the kitchen have proved immensely popular with their millions of viewers. 

Dean has returned to MasterChef many times as a guest judge, judging new contestants’ food alongside other former champions. He has also appeared on various television programmes alongside other chefs on TV shows including Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, ITV’s John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, BBC’s Take on the Takeaway, ITV’s Market Kitchen and Channel 4’s The Big Eat. In 2020, Dean was also at the centre of the Channel 4 series Chef vs Cornershop. Each episode saw Dean making meals using just £10 of corner shop ingredients – and going head-to-head with a celebrity chef’s offering. Dean also starred in Channel 5’s Air Fryers vs Microwaves, which is better, in 2024. 

Dean’s relaxed approach to food and warm on-screen presence have helped him amass a huge social media presence, with over 1 million total followers across TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. His easy, appetising low-cost recipe videos, as well as slow cooker and air fryer tips, are enormously popular on TikTok. In 2022, Dean was awarded Social Media Influencer of the Year by The Staff Canteen. 

Dean is the bestselling author of six cookbooks: 

•  Mincespiration, published in 2013, contains easy, budget-friendly recipes that make use of mince. 

• Feelgood Family Food, published in 2015, contains healthy and nutritious recipes that are easy for busy parents to tackle – and that the whole family will enjoy. 

•  Cook Slow, published in 2018, contains 90 recipes that bring the best out of simple ingredients through the magic of slow cooking. The recipes are adaptable for slow cookers or conventional ovens. 

• Cook Slow: Light & Healthy, published in 2020, demonstrates how slow cookers needn’t be confined to heavy winter recipes. 

• Cook Smart: Air Fryer published in 2023 containing over 90 delicious and energy, efficient recipes. 

• Cook Smart: Microwave published in 2023 is the second instalment in the Cook Smart series, which champions energy efficient cooking for all. 

Dean’s slow cooker cookbooks in particular have been hugely well-received by the public. His recipes have been featured in many different publications, including Daily Mail Online, NOW magazine, BBC Easy Cook magazine, Delicious magazine, ASDA Good Living and The Sunday Post. Dean has also been a regular contributor to The Sun’s Fabulous magazine. 

As well as appearances on TV, Dean has also made several appearances at festivals all around the UK, some of which included: 

• RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 

• Nantwich Food Festival 

• Upton Park Festival 

• Blenheim Palace Festival 

• Bath Food Festival 

• Eat and Drink festival 

• Royal Bath Festival 

• Southampton Food Festival 

• Denbies Food Festival 

• Nottingham food festival 

Dean has been a celebrity chef brand ambassador for a wide variety of companies, including British Eggs, Philadelphia, British Asparagus, Bacofoil, Thermomix, Meater, and OXO, to name but a few.