Anton B Dougall

Anton B. Dougall is one of Malta’s best-known chefs, cookbook authors, and culinary educators, widely regarded as a leading figure in the preservation and promotion of traditional Maltese cuisine. His career spans several decades in television, radio, publishing, and culinary training, making him a household name in Malta’s food culture.

Anton B. Dougall was born in Cospicua, Malta. The fourth child of George and Julia Dougall. Dougall attended the MCAST college in Malta, Westminster College in the UK and graduated from the Catering College, Leeds Polytechnic in the UK. Anton B. Dougall, a self-proclaimed lover of food, started working as a Chef at the Villa Rosa Hotel in Malta in 1971 when he was just 19 years old. Determined and ambitious, he had his first television series on cooking and published his first cookery book the very same year called Tisjir Professjonali, a first of its kind, and an immediate success. In 1976 Anton opened the first and, to this date, the only cookery club in Malta – Klabb tat-Tisjir, still hugely popular today at its 40th year. Dougall had his business in publishing and contract catering, was the owner of restaurants and a Hotelier and became famous by producing and hosting a series of 120, 45 minute cookery television episodes on the National Maltese station, the first ever televised cookery course in Malta. Throughout his career, Anton B. Dougall was responsible for promoting Maltese food in various parts of Europe, including London, Paris and Italy and also North Africa. Dougall was the Chef Patron for state banquets during the Presidency of HE Dr Anton Buttigieg and HE Agatha Barbara. Anton is member of the Hotel and Catering Institute, the Royal Society of Health, Contract Caterers Association, Association Culinary Frances and Couchi Italiani.

To date, Dougall has published over 40 cookery books in Maltese, English and also in German, plus a set of 350 cookery cards which sold over 25,000 copies. Tisjir bil-Għaqal, a set of four cookery books with an accompanying TV series, sold 80,000 copies, followed by A Taste of Malta, a book about Maltese food which sold 30,000 copies. Anton now is working on a set of 50 cookery cards about Maltese food in English, and another set about cakes. He is also working on a major book called Taste of Malta, a collection by his grandmother Georgina Dougall. Many of his books combine traditional Maltese dishes with accessible instructions aimed at encouraging home cooking and preserving local culinary heritage. His influence extends across generations of Maltese cooks, and he is often described as an ambassador of traditional Maltese cooking.