Rose Gray, the founder of the acclaimed River Café in London, with partner Ruthie Rogers, died yesterday aged 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
The restaurant, which has held a Michelin star since 1998 and has been the launch pad for the careers of Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Theo Randall among other chefs, is closed today as a mark of respect.
Gray and Rogers were recently awarded MBEs in the 2010 New year's Honours List and Gray was bowled over by the news. "It's really fantastic. We love the fact that we head the women's honour's list," she told Caterer in January.
Gray was a keen home cook and a designer before launching the River Café with Rogers in Hammersmith in 1987. It immediately hit the headlines as being the place to find beautifully prepared simple, seasonal and carefully sourced Italian food - a total antidote to the nouvelle cuisine that was still prevalent throughout London at the time.
The River Café has spawned a host of imitators, but Gray and Rogers were never tempted to expand elsewhere. They became known as always being personally devoted to the restaurant.
In her last interview with Caterer, she said that it was always her intention to make the restaurant more special and even more interesting
"It's a restaurant run by two women and we're always there. That gives us the chance to make sure our personal vision is integrated into all we do. I think that's what makes the River Café so special."
Former River Café protégés and industry figures have paid their tributes to Rose Gray.
Jamie Oliver: "I'm so saddened by the death of Rose. She really was one of life's very very special, natural, genius chefs; a true pioneer of delicious simple cooking. It was my honour to have worked with her - a really great boss, a wonderful person who gave me some of my fondest cooking memories and great funny times. The quality of food and chefs that have left the River Café over the last 20 years speaks for itself and is all credit to the partnership, love and values of Rose Gray and Ruthie Rogers. Without question the world has lost one of the most important chefs of our times, she will be sorely missed."
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: "When it came to encouraging and teaching her cooks, Rose always called it how she saw it (or tasted it), but she was also unfailingly generous with her time and her praise. She wanted us to enjoy our cooking as much as our River Café guests, and once she felt we'd broken the back of the shift she'd open a bottle of Prosecco and pour everyone a glass. She will be remembered by everyone who ever ate the wonderful Italian food cooked by her and Ruthie, and appreciated for years to come by all who have wowed their friends with recipes from the five amazing River Café cookbooks."
Matthew Fort, food editor, The Guardian: "Through a combination of style, passion, rigour and charm, Rose and the River Café have had a profound influence on other chefs, on cooks and writers, and on the way we experience and appreciate Italian food. Rose has left a legacy that few cooks achieve."
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