Jean-Christophe Novelli has led tributes to fellow chef Chris Wheeler following the death of the Great British Menu star.
In a tribute posted on Instagram, Novelli described Wheeler – who also featured on weekend favourite Saturday Kitchen and ITV’s Hell’s Kitchen – as an “extraordinary chef, but even more extraordinary as a man”.
The Caterer reported that his death was confirmed by the Hurlingham Club in London, where he served as executive chef.
Wheeler started his career in France and was just a teenager when he was spotted by Novelli.
The celebrity chef wrote on Instagram: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I say goodbye to my dear friend, Chris Wheeler.
“His loss is a devastating blow to the industry and to humanity.”
Novelli continued: “Chris was an extraordinary chef, but even more extraordinary as a man – warm, generous, steady, and endlessly kind.
“I invited Chris to come and work for me when he was a 16-year-old college student.
“For more than 30 years he was more than a friend to me – he was my rock.
“I was always so proud to see him enjoy the success he deserved and I will miss him forever.”
Novelli added that his thoughts “are with [Wheeler’s wife] Simona and the girls and with everyone who had the privilege of knowing him”. “May we honour his memory by cooking with the same passion, humility, and love that he brought to every single day,” he wrote.
The pair worked together at numerous restaurants but parted ways professionally in the early noughties. Wheeler went on to become executive chef at the Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel in Buckinghamshire, which thrived under his tenure.
While working at the hotel, he represented the south west in the 2016 series of Great British Menu, cooking for guest judge Grace Dent.
He’d already had a previous brush with the showbiz world, baking the cake that featured in Daniel Craig’s 2004 movie Layer Cake. In 2006, he raised cash for the charity Get Kids Going by completing the London marathon while dressed as a chef and flipping a pancake.
Fellow chef Chris Plow has also paid tribute on social media, writing: “My thoughts are with his wife and his two daughters at this heartbreaking time.
“Rest easy, Chef. Your spirit, your laugh, and your love for the craft will be remembered by so many.”
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