Another twist in head chef's story following startling contact with dad she thought dead

SOUTH Devon chef has spoken about the moment the father she thought was dead contacted her on Facebook.

- by BEN HURST

Burgh Island Hotel head chef Charlotte Vincent has opened up about reconnecting with the father she never knew

(Jean-Philippe Baude)

Charlotte Vincent, 46, who represented the South West on the BBC’s Great British Menu in 2022 and 2023, had just landed a new job at the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel at Bigbury-on-Sea, famous as the setting for Agatha Christie novels and for accommodating celebrity guests including the Beatles.

In an interview with The Times she explained that her parents split when she was very young and was under the impression her father had died.

However, she was stunned to get an “impossible” message from him.

She said: “My parents split up when I was five and I was brought up in the Westcountry by my Norwegian mother, who died of MS aged 46, when I was 20, and my stepfather. I thought my birth father was dead but last October I was contacted out of the blue on Facebook by someone claiming to be my dad.