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The renowned chef was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive skin cancer last year
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Australian Michelin starred-chef Skye Gyngell, who was known for redefining modern British cooking, has died aged 62.
Her death was confirmed in a statement released by her family and friends, according to The Standard, who wrote: “We are deeply saddened to share news of Skye Gyngell’s passing on 22nd November in London, surrounded by her family and loved ones.”
“Skye was a culinary visionary who influenced generations of chefs and growers globally to think about food and its connection to the land. She leaves behind a remarkable legacy and is an inspiration to us all. The family requests privacy at this time.”
Born on 6 September 1963, Gyngell initially moved to Paris at 19 to train before heading to London, where she worked under chefs including Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester and at the French House in Soho.
Her father, broadcaster Bruce Gyngell, was Australia’s first television presenter, and her mother was the renowned interior-designer Ann Barr.
In 2004 she took the helm at Petersham Nurseries Café in Richmond, where her fresh, unfussy plates and vegetable-led ethos helped the venue win a Michelin star in 2011.
However, in early 2012 she left Petersham Nurseries citing that the pressure and expectations following the Michelin star no longer aligned with the restaurant’s ethos.
“It’s been a curse. That probably sounds very ungrateful. Since we got the star we’ve been rammed every day, which is really hard for such a tiny restaurant. And we’ve had lots more complaints,” she told The Telegraph in 2012.
In 2014 she opened her own restaurant, Spring, at Somerset House in central London; the site was designed by her sister and marked a new chapter in her career, combining the same seasonal, ingredient-first approach but in a more formal urban setting.
Skye Gyngell (centre) prepares food as part of the Food Waste Cooking Challenge at the STEP UP TO THE PLATE summit on May 13, 2019 in London (Getty Images for Freuds)Her farm-to-plate ethos came into full view in her role as culinary director at the Hampshire estate hotel Heckfield Place, where the two restaurants she oversaw, Marle and Hearth, were supplied from the estate’s own biodynamic farm and orchard.
In an interview with The Independent, she explained: “I’ve always been a very simple cook but the more and more respectful we feel around the produce, the less and less we want to alter it.”
In 2024, Gyngell was diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer.
She shared in an interview that she had found a lump on the side of her neck in April 2024, and had to get surgery that required the removal of her salivary glands and subsequently lost her sense of taste and smell.
“There was no guarantee they would ever return. For the first time since my diagnosis I cried,” she told the Financial Times in May 2025.
“I wasn’t upset because it would affect my work. I have been a chef for 40 years. I know what works on a plate. I knew I could count on the chefs at my three restaurants…It was more the sadness that I might never be able to enjoy food again; it being summer and not getting to taste a ripe peach. ‘Who am I,’ I thought, ‘without my palate?’”
Besides her achievements in the kitchen, Gyngell was also a prolific writer. She served as food editor of Vogue until 2003 and wrote for The Independent from 2006 to 2011. She published four cookbooks, including the award-winning A Year in My Kitchen (2006) and How I Cook (2010). Her 2008 book My Favourite Ingredients and the later Spring – The Cookbook realised the same ethos of seasonality and simplicity that defined her restaurants.
News of her death brought tributes from across the culinary world.
Her team at Spring posted an emotional message to her, writing: “For all of us at Spring who had the privilege of working alongside her, Skye was far more than a chef – or, as she preferred to say, a cook. She was a mentor, an anchor, and a force who helped so many of us find our place in what we do. Her presence shaped our culture and the way we see the world around us in profound and lasting ways, and we remain deeply grateful for the time we were able to share with her.”
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver paid tribute to her on his Instagram, writing: “Her culinary style and good taste was second to none. She was very kind to me and my 15 students and employed many of them over the years. They loved her, and she was a kind influence in a noisy restaurant industry.”
Nigella Lawson, for whom Gyngell worked as a private chef before she started at Petersham, wrote: “However ill you know someone to be, their death is always a shock. It’s just awful that Skye is no longer in the world. It’s a tremendous loss, and I’m heartbroken for Holly and Evie and all those who loved her and learned from her.”
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