BBC Saturday Kitchen star Russell Norman leaves huge sum of money to estranged wife in will after he took his own life following drunken argument with girlfriend
Russell Norman is said to have left his estranged wife £1.4million after his death.
The celebrity chef, 57, tragically died last November after hanging himself following a drunken argument with his girlfriend.
Mr Norman, an award-winning chef and restaurant owner, who regularly appeared on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and also presented The Restaurant Man, left £1,437,000 in his will, including business and personal assets, The sun reports.
His estranged wife Jules Norman was named as a benefactor in the will, which was signed in 2013. The couple married in 2004 but separated before his death.
Mr Norman had also appointed his partner to take over his shares in his companies and his wish to be cremated.
Russell Norman is said to have left his estranged wife Jules £1.4million after his death. The couple married in 2004 but divorced before his death (photo in 2016)
The celebrity chef, 57, tragically died last November after hanging himself following a drunken argument with his art historian girlfriend Dr Genevieve Verdigel (pictured together)
Tributes poured in from the culinary world after he was found dead in the garden of his home in Kent on November 18 last year.
Despite his girlfriend and medical staff attempting to revive him, he suffered severe brain damage and died in hospital five days later, surrounded by his family and friends.
An inquest at Oakwood House in Maidstone in February found he had twice the alcohol in his system than the legal drink-driving limit, and a conclusion of suicide by hanging was recorded.
Mr Norman had gone into the garden of his home in Pluckley after an argument with his art historian girlfriend Dr Genevieve Verdigel. She tragically found him lying unconscious and tried to save him.
In a statement read out by coroner Katrina Hepburn, Dr Verdigel said: ‘I ran back inside to call 999. I tried to perform CPR. I was shouting and the people next door came over.’
During resuscitation efforts, a heartbeat was detected and paramedics rushed Mr Norman to William Harvey Hospital in nearby Ashford.
However, doctors revealed he had suffered brain damage and placed him in end-of-life care. He died in hospital on November 23.
His inquest found that he showed ‘suicidal tendencies’ before his death.
Mr Norman’s cause of death was given as brain injury caused by hanging, with Mrs Hepburn recording a verdict of suicide.
After the inquest, a heartbroken Dr Verdigel shared a photo of her and Mr Norman in happier times, with a long caption.
Mr Norman appointed his partner to take over his shares in his companies (photo with business partner Richard Beatty at The Tatler Restaurant Awards 2011)
After the inquest, a heartbroken Dr Verdigel shared a photo of her and Mr Norman in happier times, with a long caption
She wrote, “Isn’t it strange that the epilogue is often the part of a novel that offers the most clarity? The passages they had all wanted to skim to without having to read the prose in between.
“Well, the epilogue here is simple. Because Russell wrote it himself: “Always take advice. (And) Trust yourself, because no one else will.
“It would be banal to have a monologue about what Russell meant to me, what kind of character he was, or what I learned from him. These words have already been said, written and published by others.
“I will not talk about the tortures I suffered at the hands of brutes; those who need to know already know. And I’m not about to add words to that noise.
“When all is said and done, you realize that the most important words are the ones that remain and will continue to be a conversation between two people and that the rest of the world will never know about.
‘And isn’t that ultimately the most important thing about the spoken word? It can never be imitated or replicated. It’s a snapshot. And once it’s gone, it’s gone. Like a candle, extinguished in a cloud of smoke. Yet the smoking tendrils persist.”
Mr Norman was hailed as the ‘new king of Soho dining’ when he burst onto the London restaurant scene in 2012 after inventing the concept of Italian small plates and reviving the Negroni cocktail.
His unexpected death prompted an outpouring of tributes, with former Saturday Kitchen presenter James Martin hailing him as a ‘giant’ of the restaurant world.
He was known for leading the ‘small plates’ and no reservations movement at his restaurants, particularly London’s popular Italian eateries Polpo and Brutto.
His first book, Polpo: a Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts), won the 2012 Waterstones Book of the Year and four years later his second book, SPUNTINO – Comfort Food (New York Style), won the 2016 Guild of Food Writers Award. for best food and travel book.
He was later rewarded with his own BBC2 documentary series The Restaurant Man, in which he advised would-be restauranteurs who had quit their day jobs to follow their dreams of opening a restaurant.
Mr Norman was hailed as the ‘new king of Soho dining’ when he burst onto the London restaurant scene in 2012, starring in the BBC2 show The Restaurant Man.
Following his death, former Saturday Kitchen presenter James Martin, 51, paid tribute to Norman in a post on lost, Russell. Norman, who was and always will be a source of inspiration to many.’
Stefan Chomka, editor of Restaurant magazine, added: ‘He liked restaurants that looked like him – with lots of charm and great character.
‘He had a real sense of hospitality, but also joy, intelligence, generosity and attention to detail.
“He had a magpie tendency: he took inspiration from restaurants in Italy, New York and London and brought them all together.”
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