Gary Rhodes Obituary

Update: August 8, 2026 | Sources: Family Statements

Gary Rhodes, the acclaimed English chef, restaurateur, and television presenter renowned for elevating classic British cuisine, died on 26 November 2019 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the age of 59.

His family confirmed he passed away with his wife Jennie by his side after collapsing at their residence following a successful day of filming a new ITV series. The cause of death was a subdural haematoma—a bleed between the skull and the surface of the brain—typically associated with head trauma, though no further details on any precipitating injury were publicly elaborated beyond the family’s statement issued to end speculation.

Born on 22 April 1960 in Camberwell, south London, and raised in Gillingham, Kent, Rhodes trained at Thanet Technical College. He built a distinguished career rooted in modern interpretations of traditional British cooking, earning Michelin stars early—including one at age 26 as head chef at the Castle Hotel in Taunton—and later at establishments such as The Greenhouse in Mayfair.

As a restaurateur, he opened venues including City Rhodes and Rhodes in the Square in London, later expanding internationally with restaurants in the Caribbean and the United Arab Emirates (notably Rhodes W1 and Rhodes Twenty10 in Dubai, where he was based in later years). He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry.

Rhodes became a household name through television, presenting series such as Rhodes Around Britain, appearing on MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen, and other programmes. His distinctive spiked hairstyle and enthusiastic advocacy for seasonal British ingredients and revived classics—such as bread-and-butter pudding, oxtail, and fishcakes—helped popularise refined home cooking and professional British gastronomy in the 1990s and beyond.

Rhodes frequently celebrated and refined traditional dishes. Welsh rarebit (also known as Welsh rabbit)—a savoury preparation of melted cheese sauce (typically mature Cheddar enriched with milk, flour, breadcrumbs, mustard, and seasonings, served on toast)—featured in his cookbooks, including Rhodes Around Britain (1994) and New British Classics (1999). His versions emphasised quality ingredients and technique, transforming the humble cheese-on-toast staple into a more sophisticated yet accessible dish that aligned with his broader mission of modernising British classics.

Legacy

Peers including Gordon Ramsay paid tribute, describing Rhodes as a chef who “put British Cuisine on the map.” His influence endures through the chefs he mentored, the restaurants that carried his name, his cookbooks, and the generation of home cooks inspired by his television work. He is survived by his wife Jennie and their two sons.

Gary Rhodes’ sudden death at 59 cut short a career dedicated to celebrating and elevating everyday British ingredients and recipes with professionalism, passion, and approachability. His work as a chef, restaurateur, and broadcaster left a lasting mark on modern British food culture.