Saturday Kitchen star Russell Norman dies aged 57
Russell Norman has died at the age of 57.
The TV star had appeared on BBC's 'Saturday Kitchen' as a chef and outside of the small screen, he had an illustrious career as a restaurateur but passed away on Thursday (23.11.23) following a short illness.
Russell's business partner Richard Beatty said on Friday: "It is with the greatest sadness that I announce the loss of my best friend Russell Norman. After a short battle in hospital, he died, surrounded by family and friends. Russell is survived by his wife and three children, and I ask that you respect the privacy of his family, friends, and colleagues at this time."
He was the founder of the award-winning restaurant BRUTTO as well as the POLPO chain and its spin-off Polpetto, and also founded the comfort-food style Spuntino.
As well as occasionally starring on the BBC culinary show alongside Matt Tebbutt, Russell had fronted 'The Restaurant Man' for BBC Two in 2014, and released his fourth cookbook earlier this month.
Reflecting on his upbringing and career beginnings, he previously told Food and Travel magazine: "I spent my formative years there, only leaving to go to Sunderland Polytechnic. I studied there for three years and worked in the North East for a year, as a community arts officer in East Durham. It didn’t suit me at all and I came back to London, looking for work."
In 2021, Rusell explained that his "ideal chef" would be a grandmother of Italian descent but also suggested that perhaps "everything" other than the meal itself is what is most important in a restaurant.
He said: "I always go back to my ideal chef, and my ideal chef is the 95-year-old Italian granny. I’m not for a moment suggesting that my food is going to be ugly, but there’s a great – and completely understandable – obsession with what’s on the plate.
"For me, not being a chef and coming from a hospitality background, I actually think that it’s everything else that’s perhaps more important in a restaurant."
