Zena Skinner Explained

Zena Skinner
Birth Date:27 February 1927
Birth Place:Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Death Place:Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Nationality:British
Occupation:Television presenter, chef, writer

Zena Skinner (27 February 1927 – 6 March 2018) was a British chef, writer, and cookery expert on television and radio.

Early life

Skinner was from Luton, Bedfordshire.[1] Her father owned an electroplating company.[2] [3]

Career

Skinner served in the Women's Royal Naval Service and decoded signals at Portsmouth during World War II.[4] After the war, she worked as a demonstrator at the Eastern Electricity Board showroom in Royston; she also demonstrated electrical appliances in Jamaica and East Africa. While working in Kenya, she met Queen Elizabeth II, and her appearance in publicity photos, serving cakes to Maasai men, led her into television work.[5]

Her first TV appearance was in 1959.[6] She presented daytime cookery programmes for the BBC and, later, Channel 4, through the 1960s and 1970s. Her style tended to the homely and economical, "relaxed and friendly", without fancy techniques or exotic ingredients. She also contributed to the Radio Times, and wrote several cookery books, including Zena Skinner's Book of Recipes (1968)[7] and Zena Skinner's Down to Earth Cookbook (1982).[8]

Skinner was a brand ambassador for Tupperware products. In 1970 she appeared in a Sainsbury's film, "Quick Change", about the shopping and the change to decimal currency.[9] She appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs, on 3 March 1969.[10] She founded a charity, Keech Hospice Care, in Luton and raised funds for it.[11] [12]

Personal life

Skinner retired from television in 1989 and lived in Redbourn, Hertfordshire. She died on 6 March 2018, aged 91 years,[13] a year after her brother Bruce,[14] [15] at the hospice they both supported in Luton.[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A sprinkle of Zena Skinner, popular TV chef of the Sixties and Seventies. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/zena-skinner-tv-chef-recipes-bbc-british-cookery-writer-sixties-seventies-a8288271.html . 7 May 2022 . subscription . live. Manby. Christine. 2018-04-04. The Independent. en. 2020-03-27.
  2. News: Jaine. Tom. Zena Skinner obituary. 2018-03-20. The Guardian. 2020-03-26. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  3. Book: Kelly's directory of the electrical industry and wireless and allied trades throughout England, Scotland and Wales, and the principal towns in Ireland, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man .... 1926. Printed and published by Kelly's Directories Ltd.. en.
  4. Web site: TV chef entertains Garston pensioners. Ansell. Frazer. 24 April 2013. Watford Observer. 13 August 2014.
  5. News: Zena Skinner. The Times. 2020-03-27. en. 0140-0460.
  6. Web site: Here's something I prepared earlier. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/heres-something-i-prepared-earlier-1196562.html . 7 May 2022 . subscription . live. Benedict. David. 7 September 1998. The Independent. 13 August 2014.
  7. Book: Skinner, Zena. Zena Skinner's book of recipes. 5th. 1968. British Broadcasting Corporation. 978-0-563-08325-2. en.
  8. Book: Skinner, Zena. Zena Skinner's down to earth cookbook. 1982. London : Robson. 978-0-86051-159-5. en.
  9. News: Myer. Kenneth. Films Help in Conversion to Decimals. 1970-09-11. The Guardian. 2020-03-27. 14. Newspapers.com.
  10. Web site: Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Zena Skinner . . BBC . 13 August 2014.
  11. News: Zena Skinner, TV chef and author, dies. 8 March 2018. BBC News. 10 March 2018.
  12. Web site: Tribute to Zena Skinner (1927-2018). 7 March 2018. Keech Hospice Care. en. 2020-03-27.
  13. Web site: Obituary: Zena Skinner, cook/chef, television personality, broadcaster. The Scotsman. en. 2020-03-27.
  14. Web site: RIP: Bruce Skinner (1925 – 2017). Keech Hospice Care. en. 2020-03-27.
  15. Web site: Tribute paid to one of the founder members of Keech. Luton Today. en. 2020-03-27.
  16. Web site: Luton's Keech Hospice Care owes '˜debt of gratitude' to founder member Zena. Luton Today. en. 2020-03-27.

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