FLOYD'S BANANA SPLIT.. Chef to be cremated in fruit plant coffin.

Byline: Ben Spencer

TELLY chef Keith Floyd is to be cremated in a coffin made from bananas.

The eccentric kitchen genius, who made his name cooking with exotic ingredients from all over the world, will become one of a growing number of Britons to choose handmade woven coffins made from banana leaves.

Craig Cooper, whose Devon-based company Daisy Coffins will supply the casket, said yesterday: "As I understand it, his partner Celia Martin chose us because our coffins are stylish and made from sustainable sources.

Sombre 

"Apparently, Mr Floyd loved to cook using leaves and she thought this would be most appropriate."

He added: "Traditional coffins can be very sombre and, from what I know of Keith Floyd, that's the last way he would wish to go out of this world."

The chef died two weeks ago of a heart attack at the age of 65 after enjoying a last meal of oysters and partridge, with champagne.

His funeral will be held in Bristol on Wednesday.

Chef Marco Pierre White said Floyd had "inspired a nation" with his programmes, while Jamie Oliver said he had been "the best television chef".

Born in Reading, Berkshire, he worked as a newspaper reporter before joining the Army, where he was an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment.

He later ran restaurants in Bristol and started contributing to local radio and TV, which led to the big break in 1984 when the BBC made Floyd on Fish.

The chef's presenting style and his partiality for drinking wine as he cooked endeared him to the nation.

He is credited with taking TV cooking out of the kitchen by producing food in unlikely locations, such as on a fishing boat in a stormy sea.

CAPTION(S):

GOOD LIFE: Keith Floyd WAY TO GO: Craig Cooper with coffin made from banana leaves