Prue Leith phoned Michelin and demanded reason for snub

In January, it was announced that the cook, who lives in Moreton-in-Marsh just over the Oxfordshire border, would bow out of the Channel 4 show after nine series and judging more than 400 challenges.

The 86-year-old has been a judge on the popular baking show alongside Paul Hollywood since 2017, when the series moved from the BBC to Channel 4, replacing Henley resident Dame Mary Berry.

It was then announced on Monday, January 26, that Oxford University graduate Nigella Lawson will replace her as the judge on the Bake Off.

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Now Dame Prue has recounted the time when she called up Michelin to ask why her restaurant, Leith’s in Notting Hill, London, was not given a star.

Speaking at Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, she said: “I finally rang up the Michelin Guide because I was indignant, I knew we were good enough.

“Now I think, how could I have done that? My restaurant did eventually get a Michelin star, but it took me 25 years.

“I rang them up and, to my surprise, they put me through to the editor. I said I wanted to know why we haven’t got a star.”

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To her surprise, Dame Prue got through, and the pair, including an inspector, went to the TV cook’s restaurant for lunch.

“We sat down, and it was fantastic,” added the 86-year-old.

“I was listening to this and thinking that was when we had a fantastic baker, and then he left… and then the chef went on strike about making the bread.

“They were absolutely right. We did all the things he told us and, the next year, we got a Michelin star.”