Rose Gray


Clemency Anne Rose Gray was a British chef and cookery writer. With Ruth Rogers, she set up The River Café in 1987, which won a Michelin star in 1998. It was here that the talents of Jamie Oliver were first spotted. She had a profound influence on a generation of celebrity chefs including Oliver, Theo Randall and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the latter stating that she had had more influence on him than any other person he had worked with. She wrote a series of cookery books and presented a twelve-part television programme for Channel Four, "The Italian Kitchen", in 1998.

Early life

She was born Clemency Anne Rosemary Swann in Bedford. Six months before her birth, her father, Flight Lieutenant Clement Nelson Swann, age 26, and a seven-month-old sister were killed in a domestic fire. She was brought up in Scotland and Surrey. Her mother, Anne Lawrence, daughter of Sir William Lawrence, 3rd Baronet, settled near Guildford, Surrey, and Rose studied at the Guildford College of Art, where she gained a BA in Fine Art. Her career as a professional chef began at Nell's restaurant in New York City, after which time she returned to London.

Last years

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. In 2004 she became a "Breast Cancer Ambassador" and was also co-founder of the Cooks in Schools charity. She was in remission from breast cancer for five years before it returned and metastasised to her brain in late 2009 or early 2010. She died at home in Marylebone, London, aged 71, on 28 February 2010. She had been working on what was to be her last book, the River Café Classic Italian Cookery Book. Her other works include the River Café Cookbook, the River Café Cookbook Green and River Café Pocket Books: Salads and Vegetables.

Personal life

In 1961 or 1962, she married Michael Selby Gray. They had a son, Ossian and two daughters, Hester and Lucy; the marriage ended in divorce. She had a son, Dante MacIlwaine Gray, by her partner David Robin MacIlwaine, whom she was married to from 2004 until her death. They lived part of their life in Tuscany, where Rose first developed her interest in Italian food.