TV chef Simon Rimmer recently spoke from the heart about his late father’s death, and the impact he had on his career and life as a whole.
Turning 60 had a profound effect on him. But it was only after his dad died that he was able to come to terms with it.
It’s not long since he opened up about making the biggest mistake of his life, when his daughter Flo was just a baby.
He and his wife Ali went through a “hideous” period of turbulence and stress. In its aftermath, he made her a teary-eyed promise never to inflict such financial pressure on her again.
His dad dying brought Simon Rimmer’s life into focus
TV chef Simon Rimmer, 61, and his daughter Flo, 27, appeared on a recent episode of The Apple & The Tree podcast to talk about their shared family history.
He recalled how arriving at the milestone age of 60 had created an angst within him. And he was only able to come to terms with it after his dad died two months later.
He died two months after that, and it really brought me back into focus.
“60 was the only birthday I ever had that I was bothered about,” Simon told his daughter. “30, 40, 50 – they never bothered me.”
But he wasn’t happy, upon reaching 60. He felt like several parts of things were balancing on a knife edge, that “a lot of the sides” of his life were “almost teetering”.
“It was as though if things went the wrong way, the whole house of cards could come tumbling down,” he said. “I knew my dad was fading. I knew we were on borrowed time with him. He died two months after that, and it really brought me back into focus.”
His daughter was worried about his behaviour around his birthday
Simon and his wife Ali have been married for nearly three decades. He was in his early thirties when his daughter Flo was born.
A year later, the family finances were on the brink of collapse. Simon had just opened a third restaurant, and it was haemorrhaging money.
Flo now works in sales. She admitted that, around the time her father was turning 60, she was worried about his behaviour.
“You were quite emotional and sad,” she said. “You were regretful about certain things that had gone a different way, or where your life was.
“That made me quite sad because you’ve done amazing things. I remember saying to you that night, you need to take a step back and actually look at where you are and what you’ve become.
“Maybe you haven’t hit certain milestones, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t been successful.”
Simon owes his ambition to something his dad said when he was nine
By this point in the conversation, Simon was struggling to speak as he held back tears.
“When he died,” he said, speaking of his father, “we were all there together at his hospital bed. We got to say goodbye.”
He went on to explain that all of his drive, all of his ambition, “started when I was nine and my dad said to me: ‘If I had my time again: I would never work for anybody else.'”
“He told me he’d only do what he wanted to do. And I have never had a proper job,” he reflected.
“My dad was my hero,” he added. “He taught me everything about being a human being. I will never get over it. I never want to. That’s something I have learned about grief: you never want to get over it.”
Sunday Brunch airs on Channel 4 at 10am on Sundays.
Read more: Sunday Brunch star Simon Rimmer ‘heartbroken’ as restaurant closes after 33 years: ‘A very sad day’
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