CHEF Alastair Little was known as the "Godfather of British cooking" and a leading figure in modern cuisine.

He died at the age of 72 on August 3, 2022.

Little was born in Colne, Lancashire in 1950.

His obsession with food started after he was sent to boarding school at the age of 11, where the poor quality food made him miss homecooked meals with his family.

He went on to study social anthropology and archaeology at Downing College, Cambridge where he discovered Julia Child's debut cookbook Mastering The Art Of French Cooking.

After graduating in 1972 he moved to London where he got his first job as a chef.

Little married his first wife Kirsten Pedersen in 1984, after nine years the couple divorced with two children.

He had a third child with his second wife Sharon, who he married in 2000.

Little passed away in Australia on August 3, 2022, at the age of 72.

The circumstances around his death remain unclear.

Restaurateur Jeremy Lee led tributes to the late chef on Instagram on August 3, 2022, he wrote: “There goes a great man,

Little was a godfather of modern British cooking and a champion of keeping it simple. His cooking was just incredible.”

Little revolutionised British cuisine, focusing on simple meals made with fresh ingredients.

In 1981, he started at French restaurant L'Escargot in Soho.

He opened one of the first eponymous restaurants in Britain on Soho's Frith Street in 1985.

Little became known for breaking fine dining traditions including scrapping tablecloths, opting for paper napkins and getting rid of service charge.

The risky move paid off when it was named the Times Restaurant of the Year in 1993.

Ten years later he opened a second restaurant under the same name in Notting Hill, west London.

The restaurant eventually closed in 2003, with the original Frith Street site closing in 2009.

Alastair moved to Australia with his second wife in 2017 where they opened a pop up restaurant in Sydney called Little Bistro.

In 2019, the couple started a home delivery service in London called By Alastair Little.

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