I've always had a soft spot for Gary Rhodes, ever since a close friend told me a lovely story about her family's experience with the celebrity chef. It was 25 years ago. My friend's brother had severe learning difficulties, but loved to cook & Rhodes was his favourite TV chef.
One day, completely out of the blue, Gary got in touch with the family to say that he had received an extremely troubling letter from someone at their address. It was a rather blunt and abusive screed blaming him for a recipe that hadn't turned out like he'd promised it would.
Despite the choice language and unpleasant tone, Gary recognised that this wasn't the standard hate mail that every celebrity must encounter from time to time. He understood that it had come from someone with learning difficulties and wanted to reach out to the family.
He wanted to talk my friend's brother through the process, to find out where it had gone wrong, to ensure that the recipe would work perfectly next time. He also invited the family to come to one of his restaurants and meet him for dinner.
Over two decades have elapsed since then, but the last I heard, he stayed in regular contact with them, to make sure her brother was still cooking and trying out new recipes.
What a nice man.
What a nice man.
