Skye Gyngell
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6 September 1963 Sydney |
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Culinary career | |
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Skye Gyngell (born 6 September 1963), is an Australian chef who is best known for her work as food editor for Vogue, and for winning a Michelin star at the Petersham Nurseries Cafe. She first trained as a chef in France, and afterwards moved to Britain.
Early life
Gyngell was born in Sydney.[1] Her father was Bruce Gyngell, an Australian television executive. In her youth she was a heroin addict and an alcoholic. She has since quit both addictions and is now teetotal.[2]
Career
Gyngell trained at La Varenne restaurant in Paris, France, under chef Anne Willan.[1] She then moved to work at the Dodin-Bouffant restaurant before going to work at The French House, in Soho, London.[3] She went on to work at The Dorchester under Anton Mosimann.[4] She cooked for dinner parties, including for celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.[2]
She joined the Petersham Nurseries Cafe as head chef at its opening in 2004,[5] having convinced the owners of the nurseries to allow her to create the "antithesis of a West End restaurant" there.[3] The restaurant was set in the grounds of Petersham House.[5] The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in the 2011 list,[6] and she created a pop-up restaurant in London in conjunction with Cloudy Bay wines later in the year.[7] After eight years at the Cafe, she left the restaurant in 2012.[8] In interviews she explained that she didn't like the expectations that people had of a Michelin starred restaurant and this led to her decision to quit,[9] and described the star as a "curse",[10] stating, "If I ever have another restaurant I pray we don't get a star."[11] She explained later that she regretted her comments about the Michelin star, but thought that the set up at Petersham just didn't allow for the expectations of customers to be met, describing the facilities as "cooking out of a garage".[11]
Later that year she announced a collaboration with Heckfield Place, and was named Culinary Director for the three restaurants there. In addition, she is being backed by the same investors to head a new restaurant in London.[12] She has already said that she would not turn down a star should one come along.[11] She had declined offers to run the kitchens of Kensington Place and the café of the Serpentine Gallery.[11]
In November 2014, she opened[13] Spring, a restaurant at Somerset House.
She has written for The Independent on Sunday,[14] and has been the food editor for magazine Vogue.[1]
Personal life
Gyngell has two children,[11] and was married to Thomas Gore between 1986 and 1996.[15] She had operations in 2011 to remove skin cancer from the area around her eye, and has previously had moles removed from her arms.[2]
Published works
- Gyngell, Skye (2008). My Favourite Ingredients. London: Quadrille Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781580080507.
- Gyngell, Skye; Lowe, Jason (2008). A Year in My Kitchen. London: Quadrille. ISBN 9781844005925.
- Gyngell, Skye (2010). How I Cook. London: Quadrille. ISBN 9781844008506.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Ms Skye Gyngell". Debretts. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jardine, Cassandra (5 July 2011). "'Courtney Love of cooking': Skye Gyngell opens up on heroin abuse, alcohol addiction and Nigella Lawson". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The future is female: Industry leaders and rising stars". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ "Skye Gyngell". Red Online. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Just opened". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Kühn, Kerstin (20 January 2011). "Michelin 2011: Where have all the stars gone?". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Lane, Diane (12 July 2011). "Cloudy Bay and Skye Gyngell collaborate on pop-up shack". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Kühn, Kerstin (10 February 2012). "Skye Gyngell leaves Petersham Nurseries". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Mitchell, David (26 February 2012). "Why a Michelin star can only be a recipe for disappointment". The Observer. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Hall, James (21 February 2012). "Skye Gyngell: curse of the Michelin star has driven me out of the kitchen". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "The Skye line...what Skye Gyngell is planning next". The Evening Standard. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Harmer, Janet (29 June 2012). "Skye Gyngell to join Heckfield Place and launch restaurant in London". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ "Spring, restaurant review: Skye Gyngell's smart new venue could hardly be more different from Petersham Nurseries". The Independent. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ↑ "Skye Gyngell". The Independent. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ "Person Page – 42399". The Peerage. Retrieved 29 July 2012.