Celebrity chef Michael Caines talks about adoption

Celebrity chef Michael Caines MBE sat down with former BBC presenter Kally Adderkin- Hall to discuss his adoption as a part of a video for adoption charity Families for Children.

Caines explained that his birth mother was white and his birth father was originally from the West Indies.  At the time being in an unmarried, mixed heritage relationship was frowned upon and this lead to his mother giving him up for adoption.

Caines said he always knew he was different especially as his adoptive parents were both white, but that they were "an amazing family and never wanted for any love or felt that I was somehow missing out on something".

Talking about the charity to which he is patron for, Michael says: "Adoption does work and gives a huge amount of benefit for the adoptee and parent alike. Families for Children is a brilliant charity. I do believe in adoption and Families for Children need support for funding - not just for adoptions but also for after care.”

Caines whose restaurants have received several Michelin stars was awarded  an MBE in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry, even put his love for food down to his adopted parents saying "My love of food and cooking came from the big family meals we always shared together, prepared by my mother, who was a wonderful cook and my father who used to grow vegetables and fruit in our garden. I grew up appreciating the flavours of the freshest foods, picked that day and simply prepared."

Caines who opened his own restaurant in 2017, Lympstone Manor a luxury boutique hotel and restaurant in Exeter, Devon which he describes as "the realisation of a dream, my vision of country house hospitality for the 21st Century".

Kally Adderkin-Hall who is now executive producer for KAH Productions, is filming a documentary video for Families for Children Trust', a voluntary adoption agency covering Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.