Robert Carrier McMahon was born in Tarrytown, New York,[1] the third son of a wealthy property lawyer father of Irish descent;[2] his mother was the Franco-German daughter of a millionaire.

Speaking fluent French and understanding German thanks to his parentage, Carrier arrived in England in 1943, and after D-Day served in Paris as a cryptographer in General Charles de Gaulle's headquarters.

"[3] Carrier initially worked for a US forces radio station and for a Gaullist publication, Spectacle, set up to support de Gaulle's RPF party in its failed bid for post-war power.

[2] After a theatrical magazine that he edited and partly owned was shut down in 1949,[3] Carrier moved to St. Tropez to work in a friend's restaurant, Chez Fifine,[2] where he found relief from a bout of depression.

[4] Starting to write about food as ration-restricted Europe got used to flavour again,[2] Carrier moved to Rome, Italy, to improve his cookery repertoire,[4] and take the role of a cowboy in an Italian musical revue.

[1] His recipes were printed on wipe-clean cards (a convenient innovation), and were more specific in their quantities and directions than some of those of his competitor Elizabeth David; they made it feasible for an amateur to prepare food that would satisfy the eye and palate of even demanding dinner guests.

He thought her a remarkable cook but a poor businesswoman; so, when she got into financial difficulties over non-payment of tax, he offered to set her up as a cookery teacher at Hintlesham if she would learn to speak English.

Ejected from his television show and bored with the celebrity culture, Carrier closed the Michelin two starred Hintlesham Hall in 1982, and sold it the following year to English hotelier Ruth Watson and her husband.

[7] After closing the also Michelin two starred Camden Passage restaurant, Carrier took a short stay in New York, and from 1984 went to live in France and at his restored villa in Morocco, regularly accompanied by his friend Oliver Lawson Dick.

[2] Having sold his villa in Morocco, he owned a property in Provence where he spent his time painting pictures, tended by good friend Liz Glaze after the death of Oliver Lawson Dick.

[1][3][4] Carrier was admitted to hospital in the South of France on the morning of June 27, 2006; his death was announced to the Press Association by Liz Glaze on the afternoon of the same day.