Romy Gill MBE is a British-Indian chef, food writer, author and broadcaster. She was the owner and head chef at Romy's Kitchen in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. In 2016 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen's 90th birthday honours list. Romy has amassed a number of television and radio appearances, including presenting, co-presenting and judging roles. She regularly contributes to national and international publications, including The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph.
Romy has written two cookbooks - Zaika: Vegan recipes from India, which was published in September 2019, and On The Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh - which was published in Spring 2022.
Early life and inspirations
Gill grew up in Burnpur, West Bengal, India, where she learned to cook from her mother.
When Gill moved to the UK in 1993, she began hosting dinner parties for friends, later running cookery classes, which led to her launching her own range of sauces, pickles, chutneys and spice mixes.
She gave cookery demonstrations both in England and further afield, and in September 2013 she opened her first restaurant, Romy's Kitchen.
Style of cooking
Gill's style of Indian cooking is very different from that found at the majority of Indian restaurants in the UK. She avoids the use of unnatural food colourings, and is a fan of combining Indian and British cuisine.
She combines spices and flavours that she grew up with in India with ingredients that she was only introduced to when she moved to the UK, creating dishes such as gurnard cooked in coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato puree, ginger, garlic and her own spice blend; and monkfish marinated in turmeric and lemon juice, then cooked with onions, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, 5 spice mix paste and her own spices.
Restaurant
Gill opened her first restaurant, Romy's Kitchen, in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire in September 2013.
In order to open her restaurant, Gill applied to a number of banks for a loan, but was turned down by every one apart from NatWest, providing her with the business loan that she needed to get her restaurant underway, leading her to be featured on the BBC News in a segment about the struggles that entrepreneurs face when trying to raise the necessary funds to start a new, local business.
The restaurant closed in August 2019.
Awards and achievements
In 2014 Gill was shortlisted for the 15th Asian Women of Achievement Awards (AWA), which celebrate women who make an "outstanding contribution to our culture and economy". In the same year, her restaurant, Romy's Kitchen, was shortlisted as "Best Newcomer" in the British Curry Awards.
Gill was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the hospitality industry.
Cookery demonstrations and other events
Gill demonstrates her cooking at festivals both in the UK and abroad. In the UK, she has given demonstrations at the Foodies Festival, Grand Designs exhibitions and at food and cultural festivals in Abu Dhabi, New York City and other locations.
In addition, she gives talks and cookery demonstrations in schools where she discusses how food is cultivated, the importance of eating with the seasons and the impact of food on the environment.
Gill, along with two other female Indian chefs and Atul Kochhar, gave a demonstration at Kochhar's restaurant, Benares, in November 2012 to raise money for charity, and is an avid fundraiser for charity Frank Water.
Gill has also appeared on BBC Radio Bristol with Laura Rawlings, and has appeared in a video where she taught rugby star Olly Barkley how to cook Indian food.
In May 2014, Romy was heavily involved with the Bristol Food Connections festival: a citywide celebration of local food and drink. Along with other top chefs such as Martin Blunos, Tom Kerridge and Ken Hom, Romy took to the BBC Stars' Kitchen to give live demos of some of her popular recipes. During the Bristol Food Connections festival, Romy was also a guest on Saturday Live, alongside Jay Rayner and others.
In 2016, Romy was a guest chef at Carousel London, and returned for another stint a year later.
In 2017, Romy gave demonstrations at a range of festivals, including the BBC Good Food Show, the Abergavenny Food Festival, the Big Feastival, Dartmouth Food Festival and the Padstow Christmas Festival.
Gill was invited to speak at The MAD Symposium 2018 and, in February 2020, was invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York.