Early years Harben was born in
Fulham, London, on 17 October 1906, into a theatrical family. His parents –
Hubert Harben and
Mary Jerrold – were actors, and his younger sister,
Joan, joined the profession, becoming celebrated as Mona Lott in the
BBC radio series ''
It's That Man Again'' (ITMA). As a child Harben spent considerable time in the kitchen with the family's cook while his parents were away on tour. He later recalled, "I could scramble eggs and make mayonnaise long before I could read
Thucydides or solve a
quadratic equation". After education at
Highgate School, Harben went on the stage. He later worked with
John Grierson on the documentary film
Drifters (1929), and in the 1930s he pursued a career as a photographer. On 19 July 1930 he married Katharine Joyce Kenyon; they had a son and a daughter. During the
Second World War Harben enlisted in the
Royal Air Force, but an eye injury put an end to his flying career. The BBC spotted him while he was demonstrating to journalists how to make an omelette from powdered egg. He gave a radio talk in September 1943 titled "The new cooking comes to the canteen", describing his experiences as a catering adviser in war-time. This was quickly followed by a series called "The Kitchen Front", in which he spoke about mainly technical aspects of cooking, setting out the basics for the benefit of beginners. This ran until 1945. He published his first cookery book,
The Way to Cook, which he described as not a recipe book, but one to explain the ideas and principles of cooking. Harben became so well known from his television appearances that he was cast playing himself in two British comedy films,
Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953) and
Man of the Moment (1955). His celebrity status was underlined in
Terence Rattigan's
Separate Tables in which two of the characters, Lady Matheson and Mr Fowler, leave their table announcing they are off to watch "dear Philip Harben", from whose culinary presentations "one suffers the tortures of
Tantalus". In 1955 Harben moved from the BBC to join the newly formed
Independent Television (ITV), where his programmes, such as
The Grammar of Cooking and
The Tools of Cookery, ran regularly until 1969, with associated cookery books published in tandem. In 1958 he helped found the Harbenware kitchen utensils company, which built up a substantial turnover. The Harbenware company, based in
Bury, Greater Manchester, was dissolved in November 2024. Harben died on 27 April 1970, aged 63, and was buried in London's
Highgate Cemetery. ==Publications==