Charles Campion death: MasterChef critic and food journalist dies

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MasterChef stars and fans of the show have paid tribute to food critic Charles Campion, who regularly appeared on the show.

Campion, who also wrote for The Independent, the Evening Standard and The Times, died on 23 December 2020, his daughter Ashley confirmed.

She wrote on Twitter: “Sadly my father Charles Campion passed away on the 23rd December 2020.

“He was a brilliant father, friend and husband. Everyone who came into contact with him came away a little better for it. Love you Dad!”

News of Campion’s death was first shared by food journalist Dan Saladino, who tweeted: “Rest in peace Charles Campion – a lover of good food (and food stories) and a great friend of @BBCFoodProf.”

Known to prefer traditional food over “pretentious” dishes, Campion was known as an advocate for small restaurants and food businesses in the UK.

Tracey MacLeod, who appeared on MasterChef alongside Campion, tweeted: “Sad news about Charles Campion, the most knowledgeable, courtly and clear-eyed of colleagues around the @MasterChefUK critics table.  

“He lived for his family & talked about them often during breaks in filming, when he wasn’t grumbling about dessert parsley. We will miss you CC.”

The cause of Campion’s death has not yet been disclosed.

As well as his appearances on Masterchef, he wrote a number of cookbooks and a culinary memoir titled Fifty Recipes to Stake Your Life On.

He also worked for BBC Radio and co-presented the SkyTV series The Greatest Dishes of the World.

He is survived by his wife and two children, Ashley and Geoffrey.