Death of Rose Gray
Rose Gray of London’s River Cafe restaurant…..
A sad day in the chef world today with the news of the death of Rose Gray, co-founder of the legendary River Cafe restaurant in London. Along with her great friend Ruth Rogers she made Italian food fashionable and, more importantly accessible for the home cook throughout the late eighties and up to the present day. Perhaps most famous for training amongst others Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearley-Whittingstall of River Cottage fame her influence stretched far beyond one or two celebrities.
The River Cafe’s food style had a great influence upon me. It said that food could, and should be served without fuss. As long as the ingredients were good and they cooked with care then there wasn’t much more to it. Rustic Italian food took on a new meaning to me because of their books and they would go on to be the benchmark of modern top quality restaurants throughout the nineties and beyond.
Rose Gray had a infectious enthusiasm for food, widely loved in the industry her influence will live on for many more years to come.
Rose Gray MBE
1939-2010