Christmas without my mum, Skye Gyngell
Skye Gyngell, the celebrated chef and restaurateur, passed away in mid-November 2024 after battling Merkel cell carcinoma. Her daughter now faces her first Christmas without the woman who shaped her family’s traditions—from beachside pavlovas in Sydney to heated holiday arguments with her mother and sister.
This year, the festive season brings a painful absence, as memories of their last project together—a dessert table for Longchamp in February—linger alongside the grief of loss.
Skye Gyngell’s life was defined by her passion for food and her family. As a child, her daughter would make mayonnaise with her in the kitchen of Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. Later, the two worked side by side on a dessert display for a Longchamp event in early 2024, knowing it might be their final collaboration.
The diagnosis came in spring 2024, after Gyngell discovered a small lump on her neck. Doctors confirmed Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer. Despite treatment, she died just months later, leaving behind two daughters and a grandson, Cypie, born around the same time as her illness. His arrival became a source of comfort during her final months.
Family Christmases were once full of rituals. In Sydney, where Gyngell grew up, mornings began with beach swims and pavlova. Later, traditions shifted to Cornwall, where mince pies and brandy butter replaced the old menu, and windswept walks took the place of ocean dips. Yet no matter the location, arguments between mother, daughter, and sister were as predictable as the festive meal itself.
Now, without Gyngell, the holiday feels hollow. The daughter she raised must navigate grief while holding onto the memories of a woman who found freedom in the kitchen and love in her family’s chaos.
The loss is compounded by the contrast between the romanticised Christmases she imagined—filled with laughter, food, and her mother’s presence—and the quiet reality of this year’s celebration.
Gyngell’s death leaves a void in her family’s traditions, from the dishes they shared to the arguments they endured. Her daughter now carries forward the legacy of a woman who lived fiercely, cooked with passion, and loved deeply.
This Christmas, the table will be set differently, with one less place and a weight of memories that can never be replaced.
