Russell Norman (9 December 1965 – 23 November 2023) was a British restaurateur, chef, teacher and author. In the early 2010s, he gained a unique reputation and identity as "the coolest man in food". He co-founded Polpo, a renowned

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

-style

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

restaurant in London, and the Italian restaurant Brutto.

Early life

Russell Norman was born on 9 December 1965 in

Perivale Perivale () is a mainly residential suburban town of Greater London, west of Charing Cross. It is the smallest of the seven towns which make up the London Borough of Ealing. Perivale is predominately residential, with a library, community ce ...

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

, one of six sons. He grew up in the

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

suburbs and attended the Heathland School in

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

, West London. There, he excelled at drama, and later studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

at the

University of Sunderland The University of Sunderland is a public research university located in Sunderland in the North East of England. Its predecessor, Sunderland Technical College, was established as a municipal training college in 1901. It gained university status ...

. Norman's fondness for

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

came to supersede his interest in sport, to his family's bemusement. Russell portrayed himself as the "

black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

of the family".

Culinary career

After his graduation, he began his career as an

arts administrator Arts administration (alternatively arts management) is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming within cultural organizations. Arts administrators are responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operations of the organization as we ...

at Easington District Council. Then he returned to London and commenced work as a

barman A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, b ...

at Joe Allen and then worked there for several years in various capacities. 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. Norman's adaptation of the informal American or Italian eatery and hotel atmospheres would shift the British hotel industry

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...

. At the time, British restaurants were highly

formal Formal, formality, informal or informality imply the complying with, or not complying with, some set of requirements ( forms, in Ancient Greek). They may refer to: Dress code and events * Formal wear, attire for formal events * Semi-formal atti ...

, unlike their foreign competitors. In 2009, Norman and Richard Beatty opened Polpo in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, London; the new restaurant introduced novel

small plates Small plates is a manner of dining that became popular in US food service after 2000. ''Small plates'' may either refer to small dishes resembling appetizers which are ordered à la carte and often shared, such as tapas, or to the small courses ...

, loud

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, and waiters with

tattoos A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the Human skin, skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of ...

and bed hair. He also refused to accept customer reservations. His unconventional formula soon became the talk of the town, and other London restaurants emulated his ideology. 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. In 2020, he withdrew from Polpo Group when financial constraints from the UK COVID-19 pandemic response inhibited promised employee pay-outs.. Norman opened Trattoria Brutto, a restaurant inspired by Florentine trattorie with a touch of New York, independently in October 2021. He often emphasized work-life balance and workplace–micro-management avoidance. He also demonstrated great admiration and appreciation of Italian culture.

Writings

In 2014, he mentored novice and emerging restaurateurs on the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

series ''The Restaurant Man''. He also appeared as a guest cook for a few episodes of the British television series ''

Saturday Kitchen ''Saturday Kitchen Live'' (formerly Saturday Kitchen) is a British food television programme typically broadcast on Saturday mornings between 10:00 and 11:30 on BBC One. It is also available on BBC iPlayer. It is currently hosted by Matt Tebb ...

''. His first cookbook, ''Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts),'' eventually won the inaugural Waterstones Book of the Year Award in 2012. His second book, ''Spuntino: Comfort Food'', won the

Guild of Food Writers The Guild of Food Writers (GFW) is a professional association of food writers and broadcasters in the United Kingdom. It has around 600 authors, broadcasters, columnists and journalists among its members. In 2022 Delia Smith was presented with ...

Award in 2016. His third book, ''Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking'', was published by

Fig Tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

, and his fourth book, ''Brutto: A (Simple) Florentine Cookbook'', was published in November 2023. 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. At the time of his death, he was in a relationship with Genevieve Verdigel, an art historian. On 18 November 2023, Norman was discovered in cardiac arrest at his home in

Pluckley Pluckley is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The civil parish includes the adjacent hamlet of Pluckley Thorne. Geography The landscape of the area itself is the edge of a well-drained plain, with the lowest ...

, Kent, after apparently hanging himself. A pulse was recovered when

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...

was administered, and he was taken to

William Harvey Hospital The William Harvey Hospital is a hospital in Willesborough, Ashford, Kent, England. It is one of the three main hospitals in the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust area and is named after William Harvey (1578–1657), the Fol ...

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the Borough of Ashford, Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about by road southeast of centr ...

; however, it was found that he had experienced significant brain damage, and he died on 23 November, aged 57. In February 2024, an inquest found that his death was a

suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered to ...

References

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