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MANILA, Philippines - Who is the English celebrity chef and restaurateur who has been called the first celebrity chef in the UK restaurant scene, the Godfather of Modern Cooking, and for a time was the youngest chef ever to have been awarded three Michelin stars?

He was born on Dec. 11, 1961 in the United Kingdom to an Italian mother and an English father who was also a chef. He began training as a chef at the Hotel Saint George in Harrogate, New Yorkshire and the Box Tree in West Yorkshire. Arriving in London as a 16-year-old with “L7.36, a box of books, and a bag of clothes” he began his classical training with a series of well-known chefs like Pierre Koffman and Raymond Blanc, as well as Mario Batali.

Upon completion of his training in 1987, he opened Harvey’s in Wandsworth Common, London, where he won his first Michelin star almost immediately, and was awarded his second in 1988.

He went on to become chef patron of The Restaurant in the dining room of the former Hyde Park, now the Mandarin Oriental, where he won his third Michelin star, and then moved to the Oak Room at Le Meridien in Piccadilly.

At the age of 33, he had become — at that time — the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. During those years, he employed some of today’s top chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Philippe Messy.

Personal matters, however, caused him to announce his retirement in 1999, and he cooked his final meal for a paying customer on Dec. 23 at Oak Room. After his retirement he became a restaurateur, and together with Jimmy Lahoud set up White Star Line Ltd., which currently owns the Belvedere and Escargot restaurants in London.

He also has stake in the Yew Tree Inn, a 17th century dining pub, which was the setting for much of his Great British Feast screened on ITV in the summer of 2009. He is also dining consultant to cruise line P&O Cruises.

In January 2010 he opened a restaurant at the Swann’s Inn, which serves a selection of classic food pubs.

He has published several books, including an influential cookbook, White Heat, an autobiography called White Slave (entitled The Devil in the Kitchen in North America and in the paperback version), and Wild Food from Land and Sea.

In September 2007, he was the head chef on ITV’s Hell’s Kitchen television series after Gordon Ramsay, which is now on its fourth series. The accompanying book to the show was published on Aug. 23, 2007 by Ebury Press.

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Last week’s question: Who is the modernist Swedish architect who played an important role in the post-war urban planning of Stockholm and was a major forerunner of Swedish functionalism?

Answer: Sven Markelius

Winner: Nicolas Carpio of QC

Text your answer to 0927-9148817 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call Roma Cortes or Apple Caballes at 634-1951, 634-1952. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.