Tributes have been paid to the renowned chef Paul Kitching, following his death at the age of 61.
Kitching was the chef behind the popular 21212 restaurant in Edinburgh, which held a Michelin star for a decade.
His partner, Katie O’Brien, announced the chef’s death in an email to customers on Thursday, describing it as a “total shock”.
In a follow-up post on Instagram, shared with a picture of Kitching, she wrote: “I’m sorry to say the love of my life has gone.”
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge was one of those to pay tribute to Kitching, writing in a post: “A wonderful man and incredible cook…”
Michael O’Hare, chef-patron at the Michelin-starred The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds, wrote on Instagram: “A true avant-garde and free thinker. What a guy.”
In a post on Twitter, the Michelin Guide, which awards Michelin stars, wrote: “Paul Kitching was kind, clever, hugely talented and infectiously enthusiastic.
“He was also a true maverick and his passion and creativity were evident in every dish he created. Our heartfelt sympathies go to Katie and all his family.”
Originally from Gateshead, in the northeast of England, Kitching began his career in food by working as an apprentice baker a job he said in a 2016 interview that he “absolutely loved”.
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He briefly quit the profession to take up labouring, where he could earn more money, before returning to cooking as a kitchen assistant.
Kitching later moved to York, where he learnt about French cooking and Nouvelle Cuisine, before running the Juniper in Greater Manchester with partner, Katie.
Image: Paul Kitching’s 21212 restaurant in Edinburgh. Pic: Google Street View
While in charge, it became the North West’s only 4AA rosette restaurant and Greater Manchester’s only Michelin-starred restaurant.
The couple later moved to Scotland to launch 21212, a five-star restaurant with rooms, in 2009.
The restaurant received numerous awards since opening, including the best new restaurant in the UK and a Michelin star between 2009 and 2019.
Kitching was also awarded the Prince Philip medal for services to the catering industry.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.
JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.
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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.
“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.
Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.
All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.
Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.
Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.
Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.
In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.
They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.
The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.
Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
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Image: Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.