Skye Gyngell (born 6 September 1963), is an Australian chef who is best known for her work as food editor for ''Vogue'', and for winning a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

at the Petersham Nurseries Cafe. She first trained as a chef in France, and afterwards moved to Britain.

Early life

Gyngell was born in Sydney. Her father was

Bruce Gyngell Bruce Gyngell AO (8 July 1929 – 7 September 2000) was an Australian television executive, active for more than 40 years in both Australian and UK television. Although Gyngell began his career in radio, in the 1950s he stepped into the arena o ...

, an Australian television executive.

Career

Gyngell trained at La Varenne restaurant in Paris, France, under chef Anne Willan. She then moved to work at the Dodin-Bouffant restaurant before going to work at The French House, in Soho, London. She went on to work at

The Dorchester The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

under

Anton Mosimann Anton Mosimann OBE, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 23 February 1947) is a Swiss chef and restaurateur who was ''Maitre Chef des Cuisines'' at the Dorchester Hotel for thirteen years, during which time its restaurant achieved a rating of two stars ...

. She cooked for dinner parties, including for

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. She attended Godolphin and Latymer School, London. After graduating from the University of Oxford, where she was a member of Lady Margaret Hall, Lawson ...

. She joined the Petersham Nurseries Cafe as head chef at its opening in 2004, having convinced the owners of the nurseries to allow her to create the "antithesis of a West End restaurant" there. The restaurant was set in the grounds of Petersham House. The restaurant was awarded a

in the 2011 list, and she created a

pop-up restaurant A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory, existing restaurants or similar space, and during festivals. Various other names have been used to describe the concept of settin ...

in London in conjunction with Cloudy Bay wines later in the year. After eight years at the Cafe, she left the restaurant in 2012. In interviews she explained that she didn't like the expectations that people had of a Michelin-starred restaurant and this led to her decision to quit, and described the star as a "curse", stating, "If I ever have another restaurant I pray we don't get a star." She explained later that she regretted her comments about the Michelin star, but thought that the set up at Petersham just didn't allow for the expectations of customers to be met, describing the facilities as "cooking out of a garage". Later that year she announced a collaboration with

Heckfield Place A country estate of 438 acres, the heart of Heckfield Place is a Georgian Grade II listed manor house, located in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It was built between 1763 and 1766 for Jane Hawley (1744–1815), it was enlarged by the Shaw Lefevre f ...

, and was named Culinary Director for the three restaurants there. In addition, she is being backed by the same investors to head a new restaurant in London. She has already said that she would not turn down a star should one come along. She had declined offers to run the kitchens of Kensington Place restaurant and the café of the

Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Central London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery, ...

. In November 2014, she opened Spring, a restaurant at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

. She has written for ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', and has been the food editor for magazine ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''.

Personal life

Gyngell has two children and was married to Thomas Gore between 1989 and 1996.

Published works

* * *

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyngell, Skye 1963 births Living people People from Sydney Australian chefs Women chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Australian expatriates in France Australian expatriates in England