Fred Sirieix has paid tribute to his ‘restaurant genius’ friend Russell Norman who died while he was in the jungle on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
The First Dates star took to X on Thursday to reveal that he was unaware of the passing of TV chef Russell until he landed back in the UK from Australia.
Award-winning restaurateur and BBC star Russell died on November 24, aged 57 following a short illness in hospital, his business partner announced.
Fred wrote: ‘I have just found out about the sudden passing of Russell Norman. This is so sad. Such a lovely man and a restaurant genius like no other.
‘He made it look easy and so cool to open and run a restaurant. My thoughts go to his family. RIP Russell x’
Fred Sirieix has paid tribute to his ‘restaurant genius’ friend Russell Norman who died while he was in the jungle on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
Award-winning restaurateur and BBC star Russell died on November 24, aged 57 following a short illness in hospital, his business partner announced (pictured in October)
Russell died surrounded by his family and friends, reportedly after a ‘cardiac arrest’ – and just weeks after his fourth cookbook, Brutto, was published.
He was lauded as the ‘new king of Soho dining’ when he established himself on the London restaurant scene in 2012 after he invented the concept of small Italian plates and revived the Negroni cocktail.
The news was announced by his business partner Richard Beatty, with whom Russell co-founded the popular London restaurants Spuntino and Polpo.
Richard said: ‘It is with the greatest sadness I announce the loss of my best friend Russell Norman.
‘After a short battle in hospital, he died surrounded by family and friends.’
Richard added: ‘Russell is survived by his wife and three children. I ask that you respect the privacy of his family, friends and colleagues at this time.’
Russell was married to Jules McNally and had three children – two daughters, Martha and Mabel, that he had with Jules, and son Ollie from a previous relationship.
Russell died following a cardiac arrest, London’s Evening Standard newspaper reported.
The First Dates star took to X on Thursday to reveal that he was unaware of the passing of TV chef Russell until he landed back in the UK from Australia
Fred wrote: ‘I have just found out about the sudden passing of Russell Norman. This is so sad. Such a lovely man and a restaurant genius like no other. My thoughts go to his family’
Russell died surrounded by his family and friends, reportedly after a ‘cardiac arrest’ – and just weeks after his fourth cookbook, Brutto, was published
Tributes have poured in, including from restaurant critic Jay Rayner who hailed Russell ‘one of the most gifted of restaurateurs’.
He said: ‘So sorry to hear of the death, far too young, of Russell Norman.
‘He 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. My thoughts are with his family and friends.’
Fellow London restauranter Robin Gill said he was ‘totally shocked’ by the passing of Russell, who he said was an ‘legend’ and an ‘inspiration’, the online restaurant guide Square Meal reports.
Russell published several cookbooks, the first of which was called Polpo and sold 250,000 copies and was the Waterstones Book of the Year in the same year.
The restauranter presented a six-part documentary for BBC2 in 2014 called The Restaurant Man.
The news was announced by his business partner Richard Beatty, (left) with whom Russell (right) co-founded the popular London restaurants Spuntino and Polpo (pictured 2011)
Russell was lauded as the ‘new king of Soho dining’ when he established himself on the London restaurant scene in 2012 after he invented the concept of small Italian plates and revived the Negroni cocktail
In 2016, his second book, Spuntino, won the Guild of Food Writers award for the best food and travel book.
His third book, Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking, was released in 2018. He said of the experience of writing it that he had ‘exiled’ himself to the most beautiful city in the world to ‘learn to cook like a 90-year-old Venetian granny’, Restaurant Online reported.
He opened the restaurant Trattoria Brutto in 2021 and it became an instant smash hit with full bookings and a long waiting list. It will remain open and be run by his widow Jules and son Ollie.
