Jennifer Paterson

Jennifer Mary Paterson (3 April 1928 – 10 August 1999

Paterson and Dickson Wright were famous for their rich traditional meals made from scratch. Paterson was known for her liberal use of butter and cream, remarking on her television show in her usual manner with a shake of the hand, that yoghurt was only fit for vegetarians and those with "a poor tummy" (in relation to its use as a substitute for cream in cooking Her father was Robert Paterson, an officer of the Seaforth Highlanders, and her mother was Josephine Bartlett. Paterson lived in China until she was four.

Paterson was expelled from convent school at 15 for being disruptive. She was later enrolled at Kingston School of Art.

She departed the Spectator in 1988, allegedly due to an argument with editor Charles Moore, after she had arrived to find her kitchen dirty, and began throwing the dirty plates out the window.

Personal life and death

Paterson was a staunch Roman Catholic who never married or had any children. Paterson was the niece of Anthony Bartlett, the last Gentiluomo of the Archbishop of Westminster. In about 1980 Paterson moved into Bartlett's flat at 180a Ashley Gardens, Emery Hill Street, which is within sight of Westminster Cathedral, and she lived there with him until her death. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in July 1999 and died a month later in London on 10 August 1999. and in her will she left a bequest to fund their choir programme.