The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811—when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent—and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father.

The term Regency era sometimes refers to a more extended time frame than the decade of the formal Regency. The period between 1795 and 1837 (the latter part of the reign of George III and the reigns of his sons George IV, as Prince Regent and King, and William IV) was characterized by distinctive trends in British architecture, literature, fashions, politics, and culture. If Regency era is being used to describe the transition between Georgian and Victorian eras, the focus is on the pre-Victorian period from 1811, when the formal Regency began, through 1837 when Queen Victoria succeeded William IV. If, however, Regency era is being contrasted with the Eighteenth century, then the period includes the later French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Gary Rhodes OBE (born 22 April 1960) is an English restaurateur, cookery writer, and chef, known for his love of British cuisine and distinctive spiked hair style (which has since been shaved off).

He has fronted shows such as MasterChef, MasterChef USA, Hell's Kitchen, and his own series, Rhodes Around Britain. In 2006 he competed to represent the South of England in the BBC's Great British Menu, but lost to Atul Kochhar.

As well as owning four restaurants, Rhodes also has his own line of cookware and bread mixes.

Rhodes can now be seen on the new ITV1 programme Saturday Cooks, as well as the UKTV Food show Local Food Hero and in television adverts for Flora margarine, some of which featured him "driving a van topped with a giant styrofoam crumpet" which were banned.

Born in south London in 1960, his family moved to Gillingham where he went to The Howard School for Boys in Rainham, Kent. He then went on to catering college in Thanet where he met his wife Jennie.

His first job was at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel. He was hit by a transit van in Amsterdam leaving him with serious injuries. He then toured Europe in various jobs before becoming sous chef at the Reform Club, Pall Mall and then on to the Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge, earning it a Michelin Star in 2001.