He's one of Britain's foremost chefs, appearing regularly on TV, and is as famous for his looks as for his cooking. Women's Editor Sarah Foster meets Jean-Christophe Novelli.

I MUST admit I'm slightly fazed by meeting Jean-Christophe Novelli. His reputation goes before him - he is a famous TV chef, but more than this, a woman magnet. What if his looks and Gallic charm are just too potent to resist?

I feel a strategy might help, so on the journey up to Newcastle, where Jean-Christophe has come to launch his brand new range of frozen meals, I form some questions in my mind. They will be pertinent and cool - I'll ask his views on child obesity, if we should ban size zero models. Of course I can't avoid the matter of his attractiveness to women, but I will leave this until last. I enter Tesco, where Jean-Christophe is holding court, and soon the man they call JC is planting kisses on my cheeks.

The native Frenchman, who's lived in Britain since the age of 22, has now become a national treasure. From humble origins - born in Arras, he gave up school at just 14 to work in a bakery - his rise to prominence has been rapid. While still a teenager, he was adopted by the wealthy Rothschild family, becoming leading private chef to Elie de Rothschild before he reached the age of 20. But it was when Jean-Christophe crossed the English Channel that his career began to soar.

He was befriended by Keith Floyd, who helped develop his raw talent, then won a series of plum jobs at some of Britain's finest eateries. As Michelin stars came rolling in and he was feted by the Press, he built an empire of his own, at one stage owning seven restaurants. And then in 1999, his perfect world came tumbling down. Though why this happened is unclear, he lost his fortune, and it was only thanks to help from fellow chef, Marco Pierre White, that Jean-Christophe remained in business.

It's been a rollercoaster ride, with broken marriages (his daughter Christina, now aged 20 and a singer in a band, came out of marriage number two), but now it seems he's got it made. Still highly rated as a chef, in recent years, he's focused more on TV work, although he still runs Novelli Academy, his well regarded cookery school, from his converted Hertfordshire farmhouse. So what has prompted Jean-Christophe to put his name to frozen food?

"The great thing is that nobody is doing it," says the 46-year-old, who has retained a strong French accent. "My relationship with Findus (the food's producer) is amazing because they're already a brand name and they let me do what I want to do. I've actually created all the recipes myself - everything in the pack is me. It's convenient for your time, you are saving a lot of money, it's very practical and you've got a Michelin starred chef in your own freezer."

As he demands exacting standards, he's been involved in every stage of the development, with frequent journeys to Newcastle, where Findus is based, to check the content of each meal. The move towards less formal food is part of Jean-Christophe's new ethos - he's now abandoned posh hotels to focus more on gastro pubs, with number one, The White Horse in Harpenden, just down the road from where he lives, designed to propagate a chain. He says he much prefers to work outside the sphere of fancy restaurants.

"The cooking is exactly the same, I've just got a different audience," says Jean-Christophe. "People used to come in the past and spend £100 a head but I think it's all about value for money in life. The thing is with pubs, it's informal. It's like Findus. I shouldn't say this but I much prefer to stay at home instead of spending money going out."

Yet while he's mellow and laid-back, there's no denying Jean-Christophe does have a dark side. When he was working on Hell's Kitchen, the TV show that teaches novices to cook, he lost his cool when one trainee messed up the order he'd received. The hapless chef was left amazed as Jean-Christophe, his temper roused, was moved to punch a plate of mushrooms then bring utensils crashing down. He's now relaxed about the incident. "It was very difficult," he admits. "At one stage I thought they (the contestants) were trained actors. When I broke that plate or whatever I did people were sending me texts saying 'keep on going, the ratings are going up'. They showed that minute on every advert on the day. I didn't actually touch somebody. I lost control of my passion."

He says he won't be going back as a participant but will support the coming series. "It's going to be Marco Pierre White, my dear friend, taking over," says Jean-Christophe. "I've been asked to come as a guest but I don't want to be part of that again. I've done it and I would like to leave it to somebody else."

While he is happy to be asked about the topics of the day - such as obesity and Jamie Oliver's campaign - he is inclined to change the subject. He'd rather talk about his childhood, and as he warms to the discussion, he disappears down memory lane, to when he languished in the "thickies' class" at school. "I remember one day the teacher was sick and he was replaced by a lady and she was lovely - it was like a dream," says Jean-Christophe wistfully. "I remember that lady came and made us important."

It soon transpires that what's behind this reverie is meeting youngsters from Northumbria Daybreak, a local charity helping those with learning problems. They've clearly touched him, and he's agreed to cook them lunch the following day. "I remember my class was similar to the people this morning," says Jean-Christophe. "I'm very lucky because I escaped from that. It's nice to be able to give something back."

And that's the thing that is most striking - he really does enjoy the handshakes, the kissing women on both cheeks. Yet while he plays on his attractiveness, he's more a giant brown-eyed puppy than a Lothario. "Obviously my colleagues consider it entertaining - it is actually," he says of being many women's fantasy. "But I think I appreciate it in a way because it allows me to meet people, to discover people, and it doesn't damage me. The most important thing is I've got more to offer in what I am and what I do."

What lies behind this neutral answer is Jean-Christophe's sharp business sense. He knows he's selling a commodity, that looks have helped him get this far. What is refreshing is that beneath the charming talk, he is both genuine and humble. "When she hears that I'm good looking it makes my mother choke to death," he says, laughing.

He's now attached - to current girlfriend Michelle Kennedy, with whom he works at the academy - and while it may break many hearts, he says he's keen to settle down. "I plan to marry her one day," says Jean-Christophe. Yet as he goes to fetch my coat and helps me on with it, I somehow know he'll never shun his female fans.

n For more information on the Novelli Academy, visit www.jeanchristophenovelli.com