Rodney Chidgey one of the best

It was about 9am yesterday morning that my wife gripped my hand very tight and looked at me with mouth open in shock. Our former colleague Rodney Chidgey had passed away.

I sat for a while and fondly remembered his mannerisms, quirks and the way he made me laugh. I spent the rest of the day reminiscing and smiling at the memories, all the while taking calls, texts and messages of sheer disbelief from those that worked with him.

How could he not be with us anymore?

We last worked together when he came on board to help me open The Delaunay. Over the following two years we worked side by side with our stellar team, delivering a London landmark. Rodney played a massive part in the success of the place,, as he did everywhere he worked.

He spent a very long time working for Jeremy King and Chris Corbin, in fact it was 1997 when I first worked with him at The Ivy.

I was a young, dumb Chef de Rang (waiter) and he was ‘Robocop’, the hardest and toughest Head Waiter on the team. He worked at a pace I couldn’t keep up with and his attention to detail was mesmerising.

I remember, fondly now but not at the time, watching him inspect the whole Ivy dining room that I had checked and though to be perfect.

I think I managed 5 tables out of the 33, that he didn’t flick the corner of the table cloth up, signifying a mistake in the mise en place (the table lay-up) I had missed.

I re-doubled my efforts whenever I saw him on the same shift and tried my damndest to make sure I won praise from him.

He moved to open J. Sheekey not long after I started and our paths didn’t cross again properly for 15 years.

Rodney was the sweetest and warmest person you could meet, although he had a devilish streak that would leave me banging my head against the wall at times. Customers and his teams adored him, whether at Le Caprice New York, The Wolseley, Delaunay or the other legendary joints he helped run smoothly.

We have lost someone very, very special.

I will miss you Rodders, as will so many others. It is now the angel’s’ turn to impress you x