Patience Gray, 87, Food Writer; Brought Paella to Britain
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Cookery writer Patience Gray, credited with helping introduce British palates to European food, died March 10 at London. She was 87.
She is mainly remembered for two books, “Plats Du Jour” (1957), which instructed cooks on the proper preparation of French dishes, and “Honey from a Weed,” a passionate exposition of the Mediterranean way of life that appeared in 1986.
The success of “Plats Du Jour,” which introduced Britons to such exotic dishes as paella and goulash, helped Gray break into national journalism. In 1958, she was given the job as editor of the women’s page of The Observer. She used this platform to instruct women about European art and design.
By the time her children were finishing school, she had fallen in love with the artist and sculptor Norman Mommens, and in 1970 the couple settled in Apulia, Italy. She detailed their life in “Honey from a Weed” and in a later book, “Ring Doves and Snakes,” told of their stay on the Greek island of Naxos.
