Obituary – Jonny Dunhill 1962 to 2012

 
The restaurant scene has lost one of its favourite characters.

Jonny Dunhill, owner of Eddie Gilbert’s, the award-winning seafood restaurant/wet fish shop/gourmet chippie, passed away on 6th February, aged 49.  He had been diagnosed with cancer in the summer.  He leaves young three children Edlyn, eight, and Gilbert, 10 from after whom he named the business and Georgia aged 11 months and partner Nicola.

The great grandson of Sir Alfred Dunhill, Jonny will be remembered fondly as a kind and gentle man by all who new him.

Jonny settled in Thanet because of fond memories of childhood holidays spent in Westgate and initially opened the business as a fishmonger.

Prior to moving the Ramsgate, Jonny ran a wholesale shellfish business in London for 12 years, supplying top London establishments as Le Gavroche, Harrods, The Ivy and Conran Restaurants.  It was meeting talent chefs;  many of who are now household names, that Jonny became inspired to own his own restaurant.

At the end of 2009 he added a down stairs fish and chips takeaway and a restaurant above the shop, which was an overnight success and become a Ramsgate institution, putting Thanet firmly on the gastro travel map.
George Shaw, restaurant PR recalled, “When he first called me out of the blue just over two years ago, it was within a few minutes of me parting company, less than amicably, with another seafood restaurateur in town, whose ethics and acumen were diametrically opposite those of Jonny.

“Jonny was one of the nicest people I ever met,” said Shaw adding, “He disproved two myths about this business.  One that nice guys can’t be successful, the other about location, location, location.
Eddie Gilbert’s is set away from the harbour front, in the back streets of one of the most economically deprived areas of the country.  But significantly it is only a few hundred yards of where much of its fish is landed.

Jonny’s philosophy was to serve the freshest fish, sourced locally - fried in beef dripping.

Eddie Gilbert’s was the first restaurant in Kent to join the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Eddie Gilbert’s twice won Fish Retailer of the year in the Tate of Kent awards and was voted Newcomer of the Year in the 2010 Kent Restaurant Awards.

The Observer food critic Jay Rayner awarded the restaurant’s signature dish of Soft Boiled Duck Egg with Crispy Smoked Eel Soldiers, starter of the year in 2011.

One accolade that eluded Eddie Gilbert’s was Coast Magazine’s award for Best Seaside Restaurant.  In 2011 it was narrowly beaten into second place by Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Cornwall.

Other national press plaudits came from The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Olive magazine, Waitrose Food Illustrated and The Week.

The culinary excellence was recognised in national guides including The Good Food Guide, Michelin, Time Out and Harden’s.

Julie Monkman, manager of food campaigner Produced in Kent, remembered, "We were delighted when Jonny asked to join. His passion for fresh fish and his delight at getting it from Ramsgate's day boats was clear.”