Grace Dent


Grace Dent is an English columnist, broadcaster and author. Dent is a restaurant critic for The Guardian and from 2011 to 2017 wrote a restaurant column for the Evening Standard. She is a regular critic on the BBC's MasterChef UK and makes frequent appearances in Channel 4's television series Very British Problems.
Dent has written 11 novels for teenagers and her first non-fiction title How to Leave Twitter was published in July 2011.

Early life

Dent was born in Carlisle, Cumberland. She attended Bishop Goodwin Primary School in Currock, Carlisle, and studied English Literature at Stirling University. While at university, she wrote features for Cosmopolitan after winning a place on their Student Advisory panel.

Journalism

After graduating from Stirling University, Dent's first job was as editorial assistant for Marie Claire magazine in London.
In 1998, Dent became a freelance journalist contributing to Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, as well as a weekly column in More. From 1998–2000 she worked for the Daily Mirror, writing about international, off-beat topics.
Dent began writing for The Guardian in 1999. She wrote "World of Lather" celebrating her love of Coronation Street and other soap operas for "Guide" supplement from 2001 to 2010. From 2010 to 2012, she wrote "Grace Dent's TV-OD". In 2012 she signed a joint deal with The Independent and the London Evening Standard. She became the restaurant critic of The Guardian in January 2018. In November 2017, Dent won 'Reviewer of the Year' at the London Restaurant Festival.
Unusually for a restaurant critic, she has been "mainly vegan" since the early 2010s, describing herself as plant-based or a flexitarian.

Published works

Dent has written 11 novels. Her first novel, It's a Girl Thing, was published in 2003. She was shortlisted for the 2008 Queen of Teen Prize. Dent's first non-fiction title How To Leave Twitter was published in July 2011.
In October 2008, Dent was part of the judging panel for the Young Minds book awards.
She was a judge on the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

LBD

Her first trilogy of novels was for Puffin Books.
  1. It's a Girl Thing
  2. The Great Escape, also published under the title Live and Fabulous!
  3. Curse of the Mega Boobed Bimbos, also published under the title Friends Forever!

    ''Diary of a Chav''

In 2006 the first Diary of a Chav novel Trainers v. Tiaras was released for Hodder Books.
  1. Trainers V. Tiaras,
  2. Slinging the Bling,
  3. Too Cool for School
  4. The Ibiza Diaries,
  5. The Fame Diaries,
  6. Keeping It Real,

    ''Diary of a Snob''

In December 2008 Dent signed a two-book deal with Hodder; Diary of a Snob was launched at Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival in June 2009. The rights were acquired for TV by Nickelodeon in March 2011, but were not developed.
  1. Poor Little Rich Girl
  2. Money Can't Buy Me Love

    Television and radio

Dent is a regular critic on Masterchef UK,, and Celebrity Masterchef. She has also appeared as a judge on BBC Two's Great British Menu. She was the Creative Director for the Evening Standards London Food Month which won 'Best Debut Event' at the 2017 Event Awards.
She has appeared on many British television shows such as Very British Problems, Pointless Celebrities,, Have I Got News For You, The Now Show, The Review Show, Film 2012, The Culture Show, Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, .
Since 2016, Dent has presented The Untold on BBC Radio 4, which has been nominated twice for ARIA awards.
Over Christmas 2019 Dent sat in for Vanessa Feltz on BBC Radio 2.