Russell Norman

{{Short description|British restaurateur, chef, and author (1965–2023)}} {{confused|text=New Zealand politician Russel Norman}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use British English|date=March 2014}} {{Infobox chef  | name = Russell Norman | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1965|12|9|df=yes}} | birth_place = London, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|11|23|1965|12|9|df=yes}} | death_place = Ashford, Kent, England | education = Heathland School | alma_mater = University of Sunderland | occupation = {{hlist|Chef|teacher|author}} | children = 3 }}

'''Russell Norman''' (9 December 1965 – 23 November 2023) was a British restaurateur, chef, teacher and author.<ref name=AmazonProfile /> In the early 2010s, he gained a unique reputation and identity as "the coolest man in food". He co-founded Polpo, a renowned Venetian-style tapas restaurant in London, famous for retaining most of the service charge, instead of paying its employees ,<ref name=TimesObit /> and the Italian restaurant Brutto.<ref name=HObit /><ref name=SMRecipe />

== Early life == Russell Norman was born on 9 December 1965 in Perivale, Ealing, West London, one of six sons.<ref name=FTObit />

He grew up in the Twickenham suburbs and attended the Heathland School in Hounslow, West London. There, he excelled at drama,<ref name=GuardianObit /> and later studied English at the University of Sunderland.<ref name=TelegraphObit />

Norman's fondness for Shakespeare came to supersede his interest in sport, to his family's bemusement. Russell portrayed himself as the "black sheep of the family".<ref name=TelegraphObit />

== Culinary career == After his graduation, he began his career as an arts administrator at Easington District Council. Then he returned to London and commenced work as a barman at Joe Allen and then worked there for several years in various capacities.<ref name=TelegraphObit /> He subsequently worked as GM at Circus in Soho, and at Zuma in Knightsbridge prior to taking on the role of Operations Director at Caprice Holdings.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cooke |first1=Rachel |title=Russell Norman: the new king of Soho dining |newspaper=The Observer |date=16 June 2012 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/17/polpo-russell-norman-interview}}</ref>

Norman's adaptation of the informal American or Italian eatery and hotel atmospheres would shift the British hotel industry paradigm. At the time, British restaurants were highly formal, unlike their foreign competitors. In 2009, Norman and Richard Beatty opened Polpo in Soho, London;<ref name=SkyObit /> the new restaurant introduced novel small plates, loud music, and waiters with tattoos and bed hair. He also refused to accept customer reservations.<ref name=TelegraphObit /><ref name=CIF /> His unconventional formula soon became the talk of the town, and other London restaurants emulated his ideology. Polpo restaurants operated a discretionary 12.5% service charge, most of it being retained by the restaurant, employees being paid a fixed hourly rate of service charge, regardless of how much service charge was actually received every month.<ref name=TelegraphObit />

Norman and Richard Beatty became long-term business partners, opening 17 more restaurants (4 of which in London) and catering to a wide customer range.<ref name=TelegraphObit /> In 2020, he withdrew from Polpo Group when financial constraints from the UK COVID-19 pandemic response inhibited promised employee pay-outs.{{Technical inline|date=November 2023}}.<ref name=TelegraphObit /><ref name=COVID /> Norman opened Trattoria Brutto, a restaurant inspired by Florentine trattorie with a touch of New York, independently in October 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=David |title=Russell Norman: Trattoria Brutto is a chance to reset the record, go back to basics and do what I love |date=5 May 2021 |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/going-out/restaurants/russell-norman-interview-brutto-polpo-b933312.html}}</ref>

He often emphasized work-life balance and workplace–micro-management avoidance.<ref name=Interview /> He also demonstrated great admiration and appreciation of Italian culture.<ref name=HObit />

== Writings == In 2014, he mentored novice and emerging restaurateurs on the BBC Two series ''The Restaurant Man''. He also appeared as a guest cook for a few episodes of the British television series ''Saturday Kitchen''.<ref name=HObit />

His first cookbook, ''Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts),''<ref name=Polpo /> eventually won the inaugural Waterstones Book of the Year Award in 2012.<ref name=HObit /> His second book, ''Spuntino: Comfort Food'', won the Guild of Food Writers Award in 2016.<ref name=Spuntino /> His third book, ''Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking'', was published by Fig Tree,<ref name=Interview /> and his fourth book, ''Brutto: A (Simple) Florentine Cookbook'', was published in November 2023.<ref name=HObit /> He was also briefly a contributing editor to ''Esquire'' and to Noble Rot magazine.

== Personal life and death == In 2004, Norman married Jules McNally; they had two children, and he had a third from a prior relationship.<ref name=TelegraphObit /> At the time of his death, he was in a relationship with Genevieve Verdigel, an art historian.<ref name = Castle>{{cite web|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/celebrity-chef-and-saturday-kitchen-star-took-own-life-301592/|title=Saturday Kitchen chef and Polpo founder Russell Norman took own life in home near Ashford, inquest hears|website=Kent Online|last=Castle|first=Liane|date=10 February 2024|access-date=10 February 2024}}</ref>

On 18 November 2023, Norman was discovered in cardiac arrest at his home in Pluckley, Kent, after apparently hanging himself.<ref name = Castle/> A pulse was recovered when CPR was administered, and he was taken to William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent; however, it was found that he had experienced significant brain damage, and he died on 23 November, aged 57.<ref name = Castle/><ref name=TelegrapGuardianObit /> In February 2024, an inquest found that his death was a suicide by hanging.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/10/saturday-kitchen-chef-russell-normans-cause-death-revealed-20257547/|title=BBC star and restaurateur Russell Norman's cause of death confirmed|website=Metro|last=Bashforth|first=Emily|date=10 February 2024|access-date=10 February 2024}}</ref>

== References == <references> <ref name=AmazonProfile>{{Cite web |title=Russell Norman |url=https://www.amazon.com/stores/Russell%20Norman/author/B00P55QLJO |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=Amazon |language=en-us}}</ref> <ref name=TelegrapGuardianObit>{{Cite news |last=Cumming |first=Ed |date=27 November 2023 |title=Farewell to restaurateur Russell Norman, a true food original |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/11/27/restaurateur-russell-norman-london-polpo-brutto/ |url-access=limited |access-date=29 November 2023 |issn=0307-1235 |department=Comment}}</ref> <ref name=Interview>{{Cite news |last=Hayes |first=Martha |date=7 April 2018 |title=Russell Norman: 'It's 20 years since I was a chef. I still wake up in a cold sweat' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/07/russell-norman-restaurant-founder |access-date=26 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> <ref name=HObit>{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Amelia |date=24 November 2023 |title=Restaurateur and author Russell Norman dies aged 57 |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/nov/24/russell-norman-restaurateur-and-author-dies-aged-57 |access-date=26 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |department=Restaurants}}

Reproduced word-for-word as {{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Amelia |title=Restaurateur and author Russell Norman dies aged 57 |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/food/2023/11/24/restaurateur-and-author-russell-norman-dies-aged-57/ |access-date=26 November 2023 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> <ref name=TimesObit>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Jeremy |date=26 November 2023 |title='We all fell madly in love with him. He was a joy.' Remembering the chef Russell Norman |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/we-all-fell-madly-in-love-with-him-he-was-a-joy-remembering-the-chef-russell-norman-bm02klxnc |access-date=26 November 2023 |issn=0140-0460 |department=Food}}</ref> <ref name=FTObit>{{Cite news |last=Little |first=Harriet Fitch |title=Russell Norman, restaurateur, 1965–2023 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2457553d-c59d-4fb6-8181-bc7d033c94ec |access-date=29 November 2023 |work=The Financial Times |publisher=Nikkei |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/W0noV |archive-date=30 Nov 2023}}</ref> <ref name=Polpo>{{cite book |last1=Norman |first1=Russell |title=Polpo: a Venetian cookbook (of sorts) |date=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=9781408816790 |ol=26035809M |language=en}}</ref> <ref name=SMRecipe>{{Cite news |last=Norman |first=Russell |date=28 October 2023 |title=Russell Norman's recipe for Lady and the Tramp's spaghetti with meatballs |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/oct/28/lady-and-the-tramp-spaghetti-meatballs-recipe-russell-norman |access-date=29 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> <ref name=Spuntino>{{Cite book |last=Norman |first=Russell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPZcDwAAQBAJ |title=Spuntino: Comfort Food (New York Style) |date=23 July 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4088-4718-3 |language=en}}</ref> <ref name=CIF>{{Cite news |last=Rayner |first=Jay |date=24 November 2023 |title=Russell Norman and his small plates changed British dining for ever |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/24/russell-norman-small-plates-changed-british-dining-for-ever |access-date=26 November 2023 |issn=0029-7712 |department=Comment is Free}}</ref> <ref name=COVID>{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=George |date=15 February 2022 |title=Opening nightmare: launching a restaurant into a world stricken by Covid and Brexit |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/feb/15/launching-restaurant-covid-brexit-polpo-russell-norman-brutto |access-date=29 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |department=The Long Read}}</ref> <ref name=SkyObit>{{Cite news |author= |title=Russell Norman: Restaurateur, author and Saturday Kitchen chef dies aged 57 |url=https://news.sky.com/story/russell-norman-restaurateur-author-and-saturday-kitchen-chef-dies-aged-57-13015450 |access-date=26 November 2023 |work=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> <ref name=GuardianObit>{{Cite news |last=Sweeney |first=Tom |date=27 November 2023 |title=Russell Norman was not just a celebrated chef, but a talented actor too |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/nov/27/russell-norman-was-not-just-a-celebrated-chef-but-a-talented-actor-too |access-date=29 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |department=Letters}}</ref> <ref name=TelegraphObit>{{Cite news |author= |date=24 November 2023 |title=Russell Norman, restaurateur behind Polpo who blazed a trail with small plates and no reservations – obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/11/24/russell-norman-restaurants-polpo-small-plates-brutto/ |access-date=26 November 2023 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> </references>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Russell}} Category:1965 births Category:2023 deaths Category:2023 suicides Category:21st-century English educators Category:21st-century English male writers Category:Alumni of the University of Sunderland Category:Businesspeople from the London Borough of Ealing Category:English chefs Category:English cookbook writers Category:English restaurateurs Category:People from Perivale Category:People from Pluckley Category:People from Twickenham Category:Suicides by hanging in England Category:Writers from the London Borough of Ealing Category:Writers from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Category:21st-century English writers Category:Male suicides Category:Writers who died by suicide