Great British Menu guest host Professor Chris Jackson: Who is he and does he have a wife?
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Professor Chris Jackson joins Great British Menu as guest judge

The famous geologist helps decide a winner on the BBC Two show

Great British Menu invites guest judge Professor Chris Jackson onto the BBC Two show to help decide the winner of the London and the South East region – but who is he?

What’s he famous for and does he have a wife?

Here’s everything we know about Professor Chris!

Professor Chris Jackson on Great British Menu
Oliver Peyton, Prof Chris Jackson, Rachel Khoo and Matthew Fort must decide a winner on Great British Menu (Credit: BBC Two)

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Who is Professor Chris Jackson?

Professor Chris Jackson is one of Britain’s top geologists.

As a result of his expertise, he was appointed Chair in Sustainable Geoscience at the University of Manchester in 2020.

His area of interest is tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift basins, salt tectonics and deep-water sedimentology and stratigraphy.

Anyone got a dictionary?

Away from work, Chris obviously doesn’t put his feet up.

He has completed nine marathons, more than 30 half-marathons, and a couple of triathlons.

The adventurer is also a keen rock climber and hiker.

What is Chris Jackson famous for?

Prof Chris is known for his research, which focuses on sedimentary basins.

He has been described by the Geological Society of London as the “leading and most productive interpreter of three-dimensional seismic reflection data of his generation”.

After finishing his PhD in 2002, he was an exploration research geologist in the Norsk Hydro research centre, Bergen.

He told the Guardian in 2017: “I know no other black, full-time, Earth science academic in the UK – or in fact, Europe or the US.”

The same year, Chris took part in a dangerous mission to Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira.

These are two of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes located deep within the African Congo.

The expedition subsequently featured in the two-part BBC documentary Expedition Volcano.

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How old is he?

Chris was born in 1977 and is 43 years old.

First of all, he was born in Derby, in an area geologically known as the Widmerpool Gulf (a sedimentary basin).

He completed a BSc in Geology at the University of Manchester in 1998.

Finally, Chris stayed on at the uni to undertake a PhD in the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins.

Does he have a wife?

Chris has a wife, who is a teacher.

The pair have a four-year-old daughter called Olive, and two older children who are aged seven and nine.

Great British Menu series 16, episode 9 – London and the South East Judges

The two highest scoring chefs from the London and the South East region cook their six-course menus again.

The chefs go head to head in a bid to impress the regular judges.

These include food writer Matthew Fort, restauranteur Oliver Peyton and broadcaster and food creative Rachel Khoo.

Geologist Professor Chris Jackson appears as a guest judge.

He judges dishes celebrating British science and innovation.

Dishes include a lobster dish inspired by a computer algorithm celebrating Ada Lovelace.

Also, a dessert paying homage to the discovery of DNA.

Consequently, Chris must help choose a winner.

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Great British Menu continues on Friday April 09 2021 at 7.30pm on BBC Two.

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Helen Fear
TV Editor

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