George Perry Smith (he adopted the style Perry-Smith in adulthood) was born in Widnes, Lancashire, the son of a Methodist minister, whose changes of local appointments necessitated an unsettled life.
He was introduced to cooking by Eric Green, a fellow member of the FAU, during a week working in the nurses' kitchen of Middlesex Hospital.
When a cafe in Bath known as The Cellar, the entrance to which was through an old coal store, came on the market, Perry-Smith and his partner, Kit Hammond-Spencer, bought it and opened a restaurant.
Taking inspiration from domestic cookery books, he developed many of his own recipes, but was also keen to follow the suggestions of the influential food writer Elizabeth David.
Perry-Smith then spent some time travelling around Europe before settling in Helford, Cornwall, where he opened Riverside, a restaurant with rooms.