Unimaginable tragedy and blind luck – the two happening just weeks apart – set Ryan Riley on the path to where he is now.
At 29, Ryan is the founder of Life Kitchen, a venue where cancer patients are taught recipes that make up for the loss of taste that can often accompany the disease. Named as one of the 1,000 Most Influential Londoners (despite being really from Sunderland), he is mates with the likes of Nigella Lawson and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and a regular on TV and radio.
Getting to that point, with also a major publishing contract and three books to his name, started nine years ago, when Ryan’s mother died of cancer following a two-year illness where he had acted as one of her main carers. Just a few weeks later he won £28,000 on a £1 bet at a casino in Newcastle and took the decision to leave Sunderland and seek his fortune with London in the company of best friend, Kim.
