Renowned chef Richard Hughes dies after long illness

Tributes have been paid to Norfolk chef Richard Hughes, who has died following a long illness.

Hughes, who was chef director at the Assembly House restaurant in Norwich, had been receiving treatment for the past 18 months.

A statement from the restaurant said he had borne his illness with “unbelievable grace, strength and courage”.

In a message written before he died, Hughes said he had missed being in the kitchen cooking the menus he had created.

He added: “But of course, it’s not just about the food, it never has been. It’s the joy of giving, of looking after people, of giving them respite from their day-to-day, making memories that will last and most importantly, bringing glamour into people’s lives.

“And it’s working with my family, my very best friends, my very favourite people. What a privilege. I’ve been an incredibly lucky boy.”

Hughes won the Best Independent Marketing Campaign Catey in 2006 while chef proprietor of Lavender House in Brundall.

He later founded the Richard Hughes Cookery School, which won the inaugural British Cookery School of the Year Award.

In 2009 he took over the catering at Assembly House with his business partner Ian Wilson.

Hughes also worked with the Adopt a School programme in Norfolk, running workshops with schools to encourage young people into a career with hospitality.

His last shift at Assembly House was in December 2023, although he remained a regular visitor and wrote all the menus, including for upcoming weddings and events.

Hughes’ wife Stacia and daughter Stacey are co-directors of the restaurant alongside Wilson and will continue to run the family business alongside the senior team.

A statement posted by Assembly House said: “His legacy is his loving family, the Assembly House and a huge number of hospitality staff and chefs he has nurtured and sent into the world: chefs who still work with him decades after they joined, who work in kitchens across the world, many Michelin-starred, who still keep in touch, who love him.

“But he’d want us to tell you that he always loved the kitchen porters just as much as anyone with a star under their belt, probably more.

“He always judged people on how they treated hospitality staff and service providers and never trusted anyone who looked down on anyone else or treated them as if they were invisible. He gave everyone a chance and rewarded loyalty with loyalty: it’s just one of the reasons he was so very loved by so many.”

A Facebook post announcing his death has received over 700 comments, with many remembering Hughes as an “inspirational” and “lovely” man.

Hughes is survived by Stacia, children Alison and Stacey, grandsons Isaac, Miles and Bennett, brothers David and Phillip and step-children Ruby and Cole.

The restaurant’s statement added: “Thank you, Chef. We love you. Our ringmaster may have left the tent but the show goes on in his name.”