Grossman (O.B.E.) had a short-lived career as a singer with punk band Jet Bronx And The Forbidden, who reached number 49 in the UK singles chart in December 1977 with “Ain’t Doin’ Nothing”. Grossman went on to become a restaurant reviewer for Harpers & Queen and The Sunday Times. He has since presented Through the Keyhole (1987 to 2003), a television programme examining the homes of public figures, MasterChef (1990 to 2000), a competitive cooking programme, the History of British Sculpture (2003), and cookery show Step up to the Plate (2008) with Anton du Beke in which 3 amateur chefs competed against 2 professionals to produce the best three course meal.
In 2000 he was appointed to head the £40 million project to improve the quality of food served in British NHS hospitals and visited the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in December 2002 to raise awareness of the Better Hospital Foods project. His name has been lent to a number of cookery goods, particularly pasta and curry sauces, manufactured by Premier Foods.
Grossman is also involved in charity work. He is particularly associated with the work of museums in the UK, being chairman of the Blue Plaques Panel, the Churches Conservation Trust, the Campaign for Museums, the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, National Museums Liverpool, the vice-chair of the Liverpool Culture Company and a trustee of St Deiniol’s Library. In 2007 he was appointed Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
