Gizzi Erskine is a food writer, stylist and television presenter. She is best known for presenting Channel 4’s Cook Yourself Thin and also co-wrote the bestselling book of the same title.
Gizzi spent her formative years in South East Asia and developed a real passion for all things foodie.
At the age of 15, Gizzi was scouted by a number of top model agents and went for meetings before shooting with some, but never properly signed with anyone. She was in an Elton John video at the age of 16, owing to the fact that she was a self-confessed punk. Staying true to a punk lifestyle, she worked as a body piercer for almost 9 years in Cold Steel, Camden.
After finishing a full diploma course at Leith’s School of Food and Wine in 2003 and leaving with honors, she went on to win a placement at BBC Good Food magazine, where she started to establish herself as a food writer and stylist.
She has a mission – and that is to get young people into food and cookery by giving them a worthy role model and someone they can relate to. Gizzi is living a life that understands the foody needs and wants of the average young person. Her method is to dispel the myth that cookery is difficult and time consuming, by showing the skills in layman’s terms, then getting passion sparked by turning these skills into her inspired mouthwatering recipes. This being heavily demonstrated in her first solo book 'Easy As Pie' which is due to be published by Virgin Books next year. Easy As Pie is being shot by David Loftus the celebrated food photographer and mastermind behind Jamie Oliver’s books.
It's a very exciting time for Gizzi who is in talks with production companies about her next TV projects. She has worked as GMTV’s food correspondent, her first project with them being the sought after ‘Summer Food‘ month long mini series and she has also just filmed another 4 part mini series ‘Frugal Feasts’. She also has another show commissioned with them for later in the year and is the spokesperson of Fresh Herbs and a cause that is very close to her heart, the British Heart Foundation.
Gizzi is a real authority on food and has strong views on a range of related subjects such as food wastage, animal welfare and the food economy. She has helped develop campaigns of awareness with British Herbs and British Onions.
Gizzi’s age and edgy demeanor, mixed with her fascinating and varied background makes her unmistakably of the moment. After food her first love is music, having been a punk from the age of 14. Her varied music taste is certainly mirrored in her varied style.
She currently lives in Hackney with her artist boyfriend.
