Memorial: Rachel Cooke

A memorial service giving thanks for the life of Rachel Cooke, journalist, will take place at St Bride’s Church, the Journalists’ Church, on Thursday 14th May at 11:30am.

Cooke was born and attended secondary school in Sheffield and went on to study at Keble College, Oxford. Her journalism career began on the The Sunday Times Style magazine before switching to The Observer where she remained for 25 years.

The pleasures of food and the lives of resilient women were two recurrent themes of her monthly column but she also reviewed, interviewed, profiled and commented with “absolute rigour and curiosity.”

She was known both for her work ethic and sense of fun. The Times’ obituary noted “few can ever have written about food with quite such an abundant sense of joy.”

The many tributes from colleagues and friends reflect the sense of loss at her untimely death.

Cooke was named interviewer of the year at the British Press Awards in 2006 and writer of the year at the 2010 PPA Awards.

Obituaries

• The Observer
• The Times