Ulrika Jonsson
Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish born television presenter who first became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and later became a high profile presenter of Gladiators and is currently a regular panellist on BBC2’s Shooting Stars. Ulrika was born on 16th August 1967 in Sweden.
In 1979 she moved to England and attended Burnham Grammar School where she took ‘A’ levels in English, French and German. Secretarial College in Oxford followed and lead to her very first job in TV as secretary to the Managing Director of TV-am, the formidable Bruce Gyngell.
She left TV-am to become a Production Assistant and returned a year later to make her on-screen debut as TV-am’s Weather Girl in May 1988. Since then she has presented and undertaken a huge number of TV projects, including: ‘Gladiators’, team captain on ‘Shooting Stars’; (sketch show written by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer); hosting 1998 Eurovision Song Contest with Sir Terry Wogan; interviewing John Major and Gordon Brown; ‘National Lottery; hosting 1999 ‘Miss World’; the first ever Celebrity ‘Masterchef’ in 2000; hosting ‘Men for Sale’; ‘Dog Eat Dog’; ‘Mr Right; ‘Come Dine with Me’; BBC2’s ‘Art School’; ‘Dancing On Ice’.
Ulrika even partnered Kermit the Frog in a duet for Children in Need in 1998. Her autobiography ‘Honest’ was published in 2002. She wrote a column for ‘News of the World’ for 4 years and has just published her debut novel for Penguin. Together with her husband US Art Director, Brian Monet, she has recently moved into a new family home in South Oxfordshire which sports a state of the art Sub Zero & Wolf kitchen!
They have four children: Cameron 16, Bo 10, Martha 7, and Malcolm 3. Ulrika is a keen gardener and has been an avid cook since she was 10 years old.
When asked about her relationship with food Ulrika says that her love of cooking was established when she moved to England in 1979. “My stepfather taught me all the foundations and I quickly developed a love for Italian and French food. Instead of going out at weekends when I was a teenager, I was at home baking and creating a new recipe every weekend” She says there’s nothing quite as depressing as an empty fridge!
Aged 17 Ulrika spent a month in France on a cookery course and in her late 20’s went to Italy to do the same. In 1999 she took part in the first ever Celebrity MasterChef alongside Rick Wakeman and Jenny Aggutter with judges Raymond Blanc and a rookie Jamie Oliver. Brian and the kids all love eating – and the kids LOVE cooking.
They have just built a new house and the most important room in the house is the kitchen: The one area of no compromise was the Kitchen appliances.
Ulrika on Wolf:
“Wolf not only makes the most stylish, sexy hobs and cookers but they work the most amazing magic. If you’re serious about cooking, or even if you’re not, you cannot help but be seduced by the solidity of the products but also, more fundamentally, the functionality. There is simply nothing better on the market”
Ulrika on Sub-Zero:
“And as for refrigeration, I have been a lover of Sub-Zero products for years. Living in the country makes it crucial for me to have a fridge and freezer which keeps food fresh for the longest time possible. Knowing that Sub Zero technology will prevent my food from deteriorating is, quite honestly, unbeatable”
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