A great tribute to the man and the place he created .... and thank you for using the ‘d.....’ word. I am getting increasingly infuriated by this ubiquitous use of ‘passing.’ Passing beyond the veil is a curious notion and abbreviated to ‘passing’ it makes even less sense. My husband died. My son died too. We need to be able to talk about the way death affects us all and not try to avoid the issue with weasel words.
I’m disabled, based in Oxfordshire; hence travelling to London is now a problem. When you are recommending places in, or near my area, I shall definitely take note. Anyway, I do enjoy your comments, and as a member of The Wine Society and as a recipient of Decanter magazine, I follow your views with great interest. Thank you! John Howden Richards
The first time we ate at Brutto, Russell Norman was working the room like the pro he was & everyone got some of his attention. Especially the dogs! Also went to recent Brutto book signing at Toppings bookshop in Bath. I asked him when the fennel parmigiana - my favourite - would be back on the menu & he said "it's on now, come in & try it". We should have booked straight away. 9 days later he was dead. Terrible shock.
beautiful piece, made me cry. you are right he did touch people lives. I met him just once for about 3 minutes , when my mother knocked all his books off the table at a book signing by leaning on the stack of books and sending them (and herself) listing sideways in an only fools and horses style slide. in between leaping out from behind the table to help us pick them all up he joked " oh mother what have you done!" and then proceeded to have a quick chat with her about whether her porchetta was better than the one the daffodil had served that night (I wanted to find a hole to crawl in ). so he touched the lives of ordinary mundane bods like me and my mum too! lovely kind stylish man.
loved this piece, made me cry - had a supper with my youngest there perching at the bar a couple of months ago sharing negroni and martini, pasta and tiramisu - we were very happy. Didn't know the back story, will go there again soon
What a moving and beautiful piece, Fiona. So many people speak so highly of him as a person as well as a chef. Brutto is definitely on my list for next year x
A great tribute to the man and the place he created .... and thank you for using the ‘d.....’ word. I am getting increasingly infuriated by this ubiquitous use of ‘passing.’ Passing beyond the veil is a curious notion and abbreviated to ‘passing’ it makes even less sense. My husband died. My son died too. We need to be able to talk about the way death affects us all and not try to avoid the issue with weasel words.
I’m disabled, based in Oxfordshire; hence travelling to London is now a problem. When you are recommending places in, or near my area, I shall definitely take note. Anyway, I do enjoy your comments, and as a member of The Wine Society and as a recipient of Decanter magazine, I follow your views with great interest. Thank you! John Howden Richards
The first time we ate at Brutto, Russell Norman was working the room like the pro he was & everyone got some of his attention. Especially the dogs! Also went to recent Brutto book signing at Toppings bookshop in Bath. I asked him when the fennel parmigiana - my favourite - would be back on the menu & he said "it's on now, come in & try it". We should have booked straight away. 9 days later he was dead. Terrible shock.
Very sad: but interesting to read about him, and the restaurant, which I do not know, unfortunately.
beautiful piece, made me cry. you are right he did touch people lives. I met him just once for about 3 minutes , when my mother knocked all his books off the table at a book signing by leaning on the stack of books and sending them (and herself) listing sideways in an only fools and horses style slide. in between leaping out from behind the table to help us pick them all up he joked " oh mother what have you done!" and then proceeded to have a quick chat with her about whether her porchetta was better than the one the daffodil had served that night (I wanted to find a hole to crawl in ). so he touched the lives of ordinary mundane bods like me and my mum too! lovely kind stylish man.
A lovely tribute
Just the perfect piece. X
loved this piece, made me cry - had a supper with my youngest there perching at the bar a couple of months ago sharing negroni and martini, pasta and tiramisu - we were very happy. Didn't know the back story, will go there again soon
What a moving and beautiful piece, Fiona. So many people speak so highly of him as a person as well as a chef. Brutto is definitely on my list for next year x
Lovely piece Fi - well done. We aim to get down there for a meal in 2024...
This is a really beautiful piece, Fiona and a wonderful tribute to Russell Norman. I haven’t been to Brutto but now would very much like to go.
A really touching tribute. I never had an opportunity to meet Russell, but he clearly touched so many people. Thank you.
Beautiful words. What a sad thing he left everyone so early x
Beautiful words Fiona. I never went to Brutto but you have inspired me to go soon
Lovely. Brutto is one of my favourite London restaurants too, Fiona. You capture its essence beautifully.