Restaurateur and author Russell Norman dies aged 57

A former English teacher, Norman founded the Italian restaurant Brutto and cofounded Polpo and Spuntino in London. His first cookbook, Polpo: a Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts) won the inaugural Waterstones book of the year in 2012.

In 2014, he presented The Restaurant Man, a six-part primetime documentary for BBC Two. His second book, Spuntino: Comfort Food (New York Style), won the 2016 Guild of Food Writers award for best food and travel.

He lived in Italy for a year so that, he said, he could learn to cook like a 90-year-old Venetian granny for his third book, Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking. His latest book, Brutto: a (Simple) Florentine Cookbook, was published this month.

Norman and Verdigel were due to travel to Venice on Tuesday for a celebratory trip after the publication of Brutto. He died on Thursday evening.

Verdigel said Norman had been so excited about the trip and his new book that he had already packed a bag with signed copies to give to his Italian friends.

It was the book he was most proud of, she said. Hes been so happy since it came out, so full of life. That book is testimony to how much he loved Italy and its spirit, and how he and his photographer Jenny Zarins could capture that.

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