ROSE GRAY 28 JANUARY 1939 – 28 FEBRUARY 2010
Sunday 28th February saw the sad passing after a prolonged battle with cancer of Rose Gray, a bona fide legend in the world of catering, and indeed modern British cuisine. I won’t treat this article as a formal obituary, but simply a mark of respect and gratitude from a chef aspiring to follow the example of Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. The pair opened a decidedly ramshackle, unassuming Italian cafe on Thames Wharf in the London borough of Hammersmith, initially as a canteen for the local business community. The striking difference to this canteen however was the emphasis on honest, ingredient-led cooking as experienced by Gray during stints living and working in Tuscany. This sounds like the credo of every London restaurant now, but in 1987 it was a revelation. As Gray said, Italian food at that point was “all Spaghetti Bolognese and Tiramisu”.
The River Cafe changed all that, and more. At that point, London dining establishments were in the grip of Nouvelle Cuisine fever, the epitome of Emperor’s New Clothes 80′s tackiness. Flavour profiles and the showcasing of wonderful ingredients were eschewed in favour of competing to see who was ballsy enough to put the weirdest combinations of car-crash flavours together in miniscule portions, with a horrifying price tag to solidify the soulless “greed is good” trend of the city. As for the rest of the country – you really don’t want to know what the general level of dining was in 1987. Trust me. Thank the Food Gods, then, for Rose and Ruth and the shimmering oasis of the River Cafe. Dishes were served that sometimes only had two or three ingredients. Platings were simple. The ingredient was the king, the lure, the dangling carrot was, well, very often a carrot. The Cafe soon became massively popular, an institution to food lovers. The pair were approached to write a book. They declined, explaining that they were cooks, not writers. Eventually they were won over, and again, I give thanks that they did. Of all chefs who publish cookbooks, and I mean ALL, the biggest testament to the impact of these two ladies I can impart is that the River Cafe Cookbook, not to mention it’s progeny, has been present in every single kitchen I have ever worked in. More than Larousse, Escoffier, even the college-issued “Practical Cookery”, the Ramsay and Oliver ouvre (and more of the latter in a moment) – if the chef had a love for food, you could bet there would be a dog-eared, splattered copy of TRCC somewhere in the dry store. Everything in those books, as long as you followed the recipes, both worked and tasted delicious. And I’ve cooked the first book from cover to cover. Spaghetti with Crab and Chilli, Amarone Risotto, Zuppa di Pesce, Sea Bass with Lemon and Fennel…I learnt a lot about respecting the things you cook from their recipes. Another great point of admiration I have for Gray is the total lack of desire to become famous outside of the kitchen. Make no mistake, there was no celebrity in this chef. She took her pleasure from the undeniable buzz that is to be had from working a stove, running a pass, and in training youngsters. This last aspect is legendary when talking about the River Cafe. In the near two and a half decades of trading, the Cafe produced a good percentage of Britain’s best young chefs, most famously the now for better or worse ubiquitous Jamie Oliver. Look through an Oliver cookbook, then bring up the current menu at the River Cafe to see the difference made by Gray’s teaching. She may not have had a show on the Food Network, a range of signature pans or a raft of annoying TV commercials, but in my world, in the circles I move in, we have lost a true national treasure in the incomparable Rose Gray. The legacy she leaves is the most perfect tribute.
Rose Gray (front) and Ruth Rogers at work in the River Cafe
Casey – (Here Goes Nothing)
