When people think of celebrity chefs, they usually think of sweary Gordon, grumpy Marco or whinging Jamie and his bloomin' Turkey Twizzlers. Here at DS, we prefer to celebrate true characters from the kitchen such as Oriental cookery queen Nancy Lam! From the same school of TV chef entertainment as fellow DS Icon Rustie Lee, she puts the importance of working with a smile above how fine her onions are chopped.

Lam has made forays outside the kitchen, such as an unfortunate slot on Channel 5 reality TV disaster Trust Me - I'm A Holiday Rep and a guest spot on Dale Winton's daft-as-a-brush gameshow Hole In The Wall. However, even when she's been lowered to performing on such broadcasting atrocities, The Lam has always done it with a professional fixed grin and irrepressible high spirits. For that alone, we salute her!

Click along below to see out picture gallery celebration of the ever-cheery Nancy Lam.