Mourning in the restaurant world. Australian-born British chef Skye Gyngell, a key figure in contemporary gastronomy and a pioneer of sustainable cooking in the UK, he died on Saturday 22 November in London at the age of 62 from cancer.
The family announced his passing with a note defining him as “a visionary who influenced generations of chefs and farmers, inviting them to reflect on the relationship between food and land”.
Born in Sydney in 1963, the daughter of television executive Bruce Gyngell, Skye began her culinary career in Paris, at school La Varenne by Anne Willan. He then worked on it Dodin-Bouffant and then in England, at French House and Dorchester under the guidance of Anton Mosimann.
He soon became famous for his ability to combine elegance and simplicity in cooking. In 2004 he became head chef at Petersham Nurseries Café, a venue surrounded by greenery in Richmond. Here he creates highly seasonal, elegant and rooted cuisine in the region, which earned him a Michelin star in 2011. However, Gyngell found the star’s experience extremely stressful: recognition brought with it expectations that conflicted with the venue’s simple and natural philosophy.
So, in 2012 he left the restaurant, calling the star a “curse” and asking not to have another restaurant in the future. Although he was not officially expelled from Michelin, he chose to distance himself from its prestige and the pressure it brought.
In 2014 he opened Spring, at Somerset House, his first entrepreneurial venture. Here he takes his ingredient philosophy to a higher level: ingredients selected for the season, minimalist dishes, and cooking that enhances every part of the product. In 2015, they began an exclusive partnership with Fern Verrow’s farm and, in 2016, they introduced the Scratch Menu, designed to utilize noble waste and raise awareness of reducing food waste.
Since 2018, Spring has been one of the first restaurants in the UK to go completely single-use plastic-free, eliminating straws, films and synthetic containers. Since 2012 Gyngell has been Culinary Director of Heckfield Place, a luxury resort in Hampshire. Here he promotes organic and biodynamic farming practices, collaborating with farmers Jane Scotter to transform Market GardeN.
Marle Restaurant earned a Green Michelin Star in 2022 and retains it through 2025, underscoring the chef’s commitment to regenerative dining. Skye Gyngell is also the food editor of “Vogue” and for five years he wrote to “The Independent on Sunday”. He has published four successful books: “A Year in My Kitchen” (2006), “My Favorite Ingredients” (2008), “How I Cook” (2010) and “Spring” (2015), which was awarded by the Guild of Food Writers and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
