Romy Gill
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Romy Gill MBE is a British-Indian chef, food writer, author and broadcaster. She was the owner and head chef at Romy's Kitchen in
Thornbury, South Gloucestershire Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 census, rising to 14,496 in the 2021 census. Thornbury is a Britain ...
. In 2016 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen's 90th birthday honours list. Romy has amassed a number of television and radio appearances, including presenting, co-presenting and judging roles. She regularly contributes to national and international publications, including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' and ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''. Romy has written two cookbooks
Zaika: Vegan recipes from India
which was published in September 2019, an
On The Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh
- which was published in Spring 2022.


Early life and inspirations

Gill grew up in
Burnpur Burnpur is a captive township of SAIL, the area covered by IISCO Steel Plant and its surroundings in Asansol of Paschim Bardhaman district, in the heart of the mining-industrial belt in the western periphery of the state of West Bengal, India. ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, where she learned to cook from her mother. When Gill moved to the UK in 1993, she began hosting dinner parties for friends, later running cookery classes, which led to her launching her own range of sauces, pickles, chutneys and spice mixes. She gave cookery demonstrations both in England and further afield, and in September 2013 she opened her first restaurant, Romy's Kitchen.


Style of cooking

Gill's style of
Indian cooking Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...
is very different from that found at the majority of Indian restaurants in the UK. She avoids the use of unnatural food colourings, and is a fan of combining Indian and British cuisine. She combines spices and flavours that she grew up with in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
with ingredients that she was only introduced to when she moved to the UK, creating dishes such as gurnard cooked in coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato puree, ginger, garlic and her own spice blend; and
monkfish Members of the genus ''Lophius'', also sometimes called monkfish, fishing-frogs, frog-fish, and sea-devils, are various species of lophiid anglerfishes found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. ''Lophius'' is known as the "monk" or "monkfish" to ...
marinated in turmeric and lemon juice, then cooked with onions, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, 5 spice mix paste and her own spices.


Restaurant

Gill opened her first restaurant, Romy's Kitchen, in
Thornbury, South Gloucestershire Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 census, rising to 14,496 in the 2021 census. Thornbury is a Britain ...
in September 2013. In order to open her restaurant, Gill applied to a number of banks for a loan, but was turned down by every one apart from
NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...
, providing her with the business loan that she needed to get her restaurant underway, leading her to be featured on the
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
in a segment about the struggles that entrepreneurs face when trying to raise the necessary funds to start a new, local business. The restaurant closed in August 2019.


Awards and achievements

In 2014 Gill was shortlisted for the 15th Asian Women of Achievement Awards (AWA), which celebrate women who make an "outstanding contribution to our culture and economy". In the same year, her restaurant, Romy's Kitchen, was shortlisted as "Best Newcomer" in the British Curry Awards. Gill was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the hospitality industry.


Cookery demonstrations and other events

Gill demonstrates her cooking at festivals both in the UK and abroad. In the UK, she has given demonstrations at the Foodies Festival,
Grand Designs ''Grand Designs'' is a British television series that has broadcast on Channel 4 since 29 April 1999 and is presented by Kevin McCloud. Format Episodes generally follow a regular format, with small variations depending on the progress of t ...
exhibitions and at food and cultural festivals in
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,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and other locations. In addition, she gives talks and cookery demonstrations in schools where she discusses how food is cultivated, the importance of eating with the seasons and the impact of food on the environment. Gill, along with two other female Indian chefs and Atul Kochhar, gave a demonstration at Kochhar's restaurant, Benares, in November 2012 to raise money for charity, and is an avid fundraiser for charity Frank Water. Gill has also appeared on
BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC's local radio station serving the cities of Bristol and Bath and the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC ...
with Laura Rawlings, and has appeared in a video where she taught rugby star Olly Barkley how to cook
Indian food Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...
. In May 2014, Romy was heavily involved with the Bristol Food Connections festival: a citywide celebration of local food and drink. Along with other top chefs such as
Martin Blunos Martin Lauris Blunos (born 11 April 1960) is a British TV chef. Blunos earned two Michelin Guide stars at his restaurant Lettonie, first in Bristol and then in Bath. Early life and career His parents came from Latvia to England just after the ...
,
Tom Kerridge Thomas Kerridge (born 27 July 1973) is an English chef. After initially appearing in several small television parts as a child actor, he decided to attend culinary school at the age of 18. He has since worked at a variety of British restaurants, ...
and Ken Hom, Romy took to the BBC Stars' Kitchen to give live demos of some of her popular recipes. During the Bristol Food Connections festival, Romy was also a guest on Saturday Live, alongside
Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is a British journalist and food critic. He has worked as a freelance journalist for newspapers including ''The Observer'' and ''The Independent on Sunday.'' He was the ''Observer'' restaurant criti ...
and others. In 2016, Romy was a guest chef at Carousel London, and returned for another stint a year later. In 2017, Romy gave demonstrations at a range of festivals, including the
BBC Good Food ''Good Food'', known as ''BBC Good Food'' until 2024, is a global food media brand, with a monthly magazine, website, app, live events and series of books. Keith Kendrick is Head of Magazines along with Dr. Keith Rowley, with Christine Hayes a ...
Show, the Abergavenny Food Festival, the Big Feastival, Dartmouth Food Festival and the Padstow Christmas Festival. Gill was invited to speak a
The MAD Symposium 2018
and, in February 2020, was invited to cook at the prestigious
James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...
in New York.


Food writing

Romy contributes regularly to food publications such as Crumbs, Olive, Delicious, Saveur and Food52, and has featured in The Guardian, where she had a residency in April 2016. She has a number of recipes on the BBC Food website, as well as having published recipes and articles in The Times, The Telegraph, The New York Times, Today, You Magazine, Ocado, The Independent and The Observer. In 2017, Romy travelled to India with Suitcase Magazine, where she explored and wrote articles on Ladakh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Her first cookbook
Zaika: Vegan recipes from India
was published in 2019. Her second cookbook
On The Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh
was published in spring 2022.


Television appearances

In March 2020, she began to appear on
Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
., where she was one of the chefs until 2022. She has also previously appeared on '' Sunday Brunch'', ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'', ''
Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, Tom Heap, Ellie Har ...
'' (including a regular slot interviewing and cooking with children who love food,
Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a British competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2005 as ''MasterChef Goes Large' ...
2016, ''
Hairy Bikers The Hairy Bikers were a pair of English celebrity chefs comprising David Myers and Si King, whose television programmes combined cooking with motorcycling travelogue. Between 2004 and 2024, they hosted over 30 television series and special ...
'' Comfort Food, '' Saturday Morning with James Martin'', '' Morning Live'', ''
Front Row (radio programme) ''Front Row'' is a radio programme on BBC Radio 4 that has been broadcast regularly since 1998. The BBC describes the programme as a "live magazine programme on the world of arts, literature, film, media and music". It is broadcast each weekd ...
'' and many more. She is als
a regular
on ''
The Food Programme ''The Food Programme'' is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating and celebrating good food, founded by Derek Macdonald Cooper, Derek Cooper and currently presented by Sheila Dillon, Dan Saladino, Leyla Kazim and Jaega Wise. The series is produce ...
'' on ''
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
'', where she has appeared as a judge, a presenter and a co-presenter, and in 2021 and 2022, has appeared on '' Steph's Packed Lunch'' hosted by '' Steph McGovern'' on ''
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
''. She has also appeared on the celebrity versions of
Pointless ''Pointless'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British television quiz show produced by Banijay Entertainment subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC and hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode, four teams of two contestan ...
and
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
. She has featured as the subject of a film short on "Family Dinners" on
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...
UK, with more
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and ITV appearances in the pipeline.


Radio appearances

Romy has appeared frequently on the radio - as a presenter, a co-presenter and a judge. She has taught Woman's Hour listeners to make vegetarian samosas, and has shared her recipe for spicy chickpeas on BBC Radio 4. Other radio interview topics include
Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey Order of the British Empire, CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-born British-American actress, cookbook and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the weste ...
, issues with the restaurant trade, food during the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
outbreak and lockdowns, pumpkins and winter squash, food and mental health and mangoes.


Personal life

Gill lives in
Thornbury, South Gloucestershire Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 census, rising to 14,496 in the 2021 census. Thornbury is a Britain ...
with her husband and two daughters. She is an active runner.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Romy 1971 births Living people English chefs Indian chefs Members of the Order of the British Empire Indian emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Asansol