Wilkes McDermid dead: Prominent food blogger falls to his death from roof terrace of City restaurant Coq d’Argent
In his last blog Mr McDermid said: 'This is a message to thank you for being part of my last adventure in London. Alas, it is time to say goodbye'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A prominent food blogger plunged to his death yesterday, after writing a blog post about being “tired of life.”
Wilkes McDermid, 39, is understood to have fallen from the City restaurant Coq d’Argent’s roof-terrace, shortly after it closed on Sunday afternoon.
Mr McDermid was well-known on the London restaurant scene, and two years ago caused concern among his friends when he went missing in Cape Town.
Earlier on Sunday, he had written on social networking site Twitter: “Final message... thank you everyone” with a link to a blog post saying that he was “tired of life”.
Quoting the writer Samuel Johnson, he wrote: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford... Johnson was right, I am not tired of London and never have been… however I am tired of life.”
In his last blog Mr McDermid said: “This is a message to thank you for being part of my last adventure in London. Alas, it is time to say goodbye. The reasons ‘why’ will be upsetting for some and very hard to accept for others, so this is addressed separately here. It is up to you whether you wish to read it, but if you wish to judge, I suggest you actually read it rather than take a summary from someone else.”
Friends and Twitter followers tweeted their concern, including chef and food writer Gizzi Erskine who wrote: “I believe a 999 was called a while back.”
Streetfood organisation KERB tweeted: “So many thoughts and wishes for @wilkes888 [Mr McDermid’s Twitter handle] and his family today. We hope the best for a dear and constant part of our world. XX”
Friends alerted police after the tweet was posted on Sunday afternoon and Met officers rushed to Mr McDermid’s Chelsea home but there was no one there.
City of London police said officers were investigating the death of a 39-year-old man who was seen to fall from a restaurant at Number 1 Poultry. Police said the man’s family had been informed.
A spokeswoman for City of London Police said the force “was not treating his death as suspicious”.
Mr McDermid had caused concern in 2012 when he failed to get his scheduled flight home to London and cut off all communication prompting an international search for him by friends and a police investigation.
He was found safe and well after his family flew out to join the search for him.
Anyone in need of confidential support can contact the Samaritans in the UK 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments