BBC Saturday Kitchen star and award-winning chef Russell Norman, 57, took his own life in garden after drunken argument with girlfriend, inquest hears - as heartbroken partner says she has been tortured at 'hands of brutes' in emotional tribute

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Celebrity chef Russell Norman hanged himself after a drunken argument with his girlfriend, an inquest has heard.

The award-winning chef and restaurant owner, who regularly appeared on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and also presented The Restaurant Man, was found dead in the garden of his Kent home on November 18 last year.

Despite his girlfriend and medical staff attempting to do CPR on him, he suffered severe brain damage and died five days later in hospital aged 57 surrounded by his family and friends.

Mr Norman was lauded as the ‘new king of Soho dining’ when he established himself on the London restaurant scene in 2012 after he invented the concept of small Italian plates and revived the Negroni cocktail.

The inquest at Oakwood House in Maidstone yesterday heard he had twice the amount of alcohol in his system than the legal drink-drive limit, and a conclusion of suicide by hanging was recorded.

Mr Norman had gone into the garden of his home in Pluckley after arguing with his art historian girlfriend Dr Genevieve Verdigel. She tragically found him lying unconscious and tried to save him.

In a statement read by Coroner Katrina Hepburn, Dr Verdigel said: ‘I ran back inside to call 999. I was trying to do CPR. I was screaming and the people next door came round.’

Celebrity chef Russell Norman hanged himself in garden after drunken argument with his girlfriend, an inquest has heard

The inquest at Oakwood House in Maidstone on Friday heard he had gone into the garden of his home in Pluckley after arguing with girlfriend Dr Genevieve Verdigel. She posted this picture and message of them yesterday

In a statement read by Coroner Katrina Hepburn, Dr Verdigel, an art historian, told how she had later discovered Mr Norman lying unconscious in the garden

A pulse was detected during resuscitation attempts and paramedics rushed Mr Norman to the William Harvey Hospital in nearby Ashford.

However, doctors revealed he had suffered brain damage and placed him on end-of-life care. He died in hospital on November 23.

His inquest heard he had been displaying ‘suicidal tendencies’ before his death.

The cause of Mr Norman’s death was given as a brain injury caused by hanging, with Ms Hepburn recording a verdict of suicide.

Following the inquest, a heartbroken Dr Verdigel shared a picture of her and Mr Norman in happier times with a lengthy caption.

She wrote: ‘Isn’t it odd how the epilogue is often the part of a novel that provides the most clarity. The passages that all wish they could have flicked forward to without having to read the prose inbetween.

‘Well, the epilogue here is a simple one. Because Russell wrote it himself: ‘Always keep your counsel. (And) Trust yourself because no-one else will.

‘To enter into a soliloquy on what Russell meant to me, what a character he was, or what I learnt from him, would be banal. Those words have already been said, written and published by others. I won’t talk about the torture I have undergone at the hands of brutes; those who need to know already know. And I have no intent to add words to that noise.

Russell Norman starred in the BBC2 show The Restaurant Man

‘When all is said and done, what you come to realise are the most important words are those that remain, and will remain, a conversation between two people and to which the rest of the world will never be privy.

‘And, at the end of the day, is that not the most important thing about the spoken word… it can never be emulated nor replicated. It is a moment in time. And once it is gone it is gone. Like a candle, eradicated in a puff of smoke. Yet the smoking tendrils remain.’

Mr Norman’s unexpected death summoned floods of tributes, with former Saturday Kitchen host James Martin hailing him as a ‘giant’ of the restaurant world.

He was renowned for spearheading the ‘small plates’ and no reservations movements at his restaurants, most notably the popular Italian eateries Polpo and Brutto in London.

His first book, Polpo: a Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts), won the Waterstones Book of the Year in 2012 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.

London Restaurateur of the Year Russell Norman (right) and business partner Richard Beatty (left) at The Tatler Restaurant Awards 2011 at the Langham Hotel, Portland Place, London

Russell Norman attends The Good Food Guide Awards 2023 at The Groucho Club on October 17, 2022

He was later rewarded with his own BBC2 documentary series The Restaurant Man, in which he advised would-be restauranteurs who packed in their day jobs to follow their dreams of opening a restaurant.

Following his death, former Saturday Kitchen host James Martin, 51, paid tribute to him Norman in a post on X (formerly Twitter), writing: ‘Just heard the news that today we lost a giant and a legend in the restaurant world, Russell Norman, who was and will always be an inspiration for so many.’

Stefan Chomka, editor of Restaurant magazine, added: ‘He loved restaurants that were like him – that had lots of charm and great character.

‘He had a real sense of hospitality, as well as joy, intelligence, generosity and an eye for detail.

‘He had a magpie tendency: he would take inspiration from restaurants in Italy, New York and London and bring them all together.’