Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
1
Gary has died, aged 59.
A food hero of mine, he was a pioneer of Modern British cuisine, reinventing traditional dishes and the use of local produce and trechniques. Although out of the public eye for a number of years now, his legacy is that he started the change of a nation’s restaurant food, setting the scene for others, like Fergus Henderson, to gain popularity.
I remember his first TV show. He cooked lunch for players at Manchester United (yeah, another southerner who was a fan). It was a salad. But this was a “Full English” salad using all the breakfast ingredients, including local Bury black pudding, to enhance the leaves. I was hooked on his food. To coin a phrase he often used it had “all the tastes, all the flavours”.
Sad to hear. I think people underestimate the impact he had on British food. I too remember his early cooking programmes. There was no doubting his passion for British produce and dishes.
Presunto
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3
OMG… what happened? Just saw it on Guardian. We used to watch his food programmes all the time. Even had one of his books (though not anymore).
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
4
Dunno. Reports say he died at home in Dubai and had been working that day - so I assume heart attack or something equally sudden.
He opened a restaurant in Manchester - opposite United’s ground. We booked. We turned up. Only to find it had closed two days before. Very short lived. I think that will have been when his career was on something of a wane and the restaurant business was more glitz than substance.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
5
There are now reports that he’d returned home after a a day’s shooting a new TV series and slipped and banged his head on a table. He was taken to hospital but died soon after from “subdural haematoma”
Presunto
(--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])
6
