BBC Saturday Kitchen chef Russell Norman dies, aged 57

Charlie Duncan
·2 min read
russell norman attends the good food guide awards 2023 at the groucho club
BBC Saturday Kitchen's Russell Norman dies at 57Dave Benett - Getty Images
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Russell Norman, star of BBC's Saturday Kitchen, has died, aged 57.

The restaurateur, author and TV presenter passed away on Thursday evening following a "short illness" according to The Guardian.

Aside from regular appearances on BBC's weekend cooking show Saturday Kitchen, Norman had written multiple cookbooks and started many restaurants, including chain Polpo, and its spinoffs Spuntino and Polpetto.

In a statement released to Restaurant Online, Norman's close friend and Polpo and Spuntino co-founder Richard Beatty said: "It is with the greatest sadness I announce the loss of my best friend Russell Norman.

russell norman, restaurant owner, tv star, chef and founder of the polpo and brutto restaurants, poses for the photographer on july 28, 2018 at the port eliot festival, port eliot, st germans, cornwall, england photo by hugh r hastingsgetty images
Hugh R Hastings - Getty Images

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“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."

Saturday Kitchen has also paid tribute to Norman, calling the late resaurateur "one of the most talented chefs of our generation" on X.

Food critic Jay Rayner added that Norman "was one of the most gifted of restaurateurs, a terrific writer and an awful lot of fun to be around. He very much lived life his own way."

According to The Evening Standard, Norman died following a cardiac arrest.

Related: BBC's Saturday Kitchen apologises for word mix-up on air

Norman was often credited with pioneering the dining concept of 'small plates' in his restaurants, re-popularising classic cocktail the Negroni and was previously termed "the new king of Soho dining".

He had released three cookbooks; the first, 'Polpo', sold more than 250,000 copies and won the Waterstones Book of the Year award in 2012.

Norman had also recently opened a new restaurant, Trattoria Brutto, in 2021 and an accompanying cookbook, BRUTTO: A Simple Florentine Cookbook, in October 2023.

Norman is survived by his wife and three children.

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