BBC Saturday Kitchen star Russell Norman left HUGE sum to his wife after tragic death aged just 57
BBC star Russell Norman left his wife £1.4million after his tragic death.
The Saturday Kitchen cook bequeathed the huge sum to his family after he died at just 57 last November.
Russell, a successful restaurateur who mentored wannabe chefs on TV, left an eye-watering £1,437,000 including business and personal assets.
The will, signed in 2013, ordered the estate be passed to his estranged wife Jules Norman, whom he wed in 2004 but separated from before he died.
He also penned his wish to be cremated and for his partner to take over his shares in his businesses.
Norman – branded “the coolest man in food” for his innovative dishes – wrote four cookbooks after shooting to fame on beloved BBC staple Saturday Kitchen.
Born in Perivale, North West London, Russell found his love for cooking after a brief stint as a civil servant.
He took on a string of jobs at hotel restaurants before opening legendary Soho bar Polpo in 2009.
The eatery introduced novel small plates, loud music, and waiters with tattoos and bed hair.
Norman also refused all customer reservations, no matter how important his guests were.
He went on to found award-winning Italian restaurant Brutto and cocktail joint Spuntino.
An inquest in February heard the star died in the garden of his home in Ashford, Kent, after a drunken argument with his girlfriend.
It is unclear when he had separated from Jules, who was by his bedside when he died.
He was found on November 18 and rushed to hospital, where he never regained consciousness and died five days later.
The court heard millionaire Russell had gone into the garden of his home in Pluckley after arguing with girlfriend Dr Genevieve Verdigel.
Art historian Dr Verdigel told how she had later discovered her lover lying unconscious in the garden.
She said: “I ran back inside to call 999.
“I was trying to do CPR. I was screaming and the people next door came round.”
The Coroner said he had twice the amount of alcohol in his system than the legal drink-drive limit and had displayed “suicidal tendencies” in the weeks before he died.
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