By Isle of Wight Observer
A highly-respected chef at The Castle Inn, Newport, has died suddenly aged 23.
Lewis James Gregory started school at St Thomas of Canterbury, Carisbrooke, after attending pre-school there, then attended Nodehill Middle School and Carisbrooke High School.
Growing up he always loved to cook, so it was no surprise that, in 2014, he joined the IW College on a catering course. He would go on to train for three years at the college, gaining qualifications in food and beverages and hospitality.
In 2015, aged 16, he started work at the Crab and Lobster, Bembridge, then Newport Cricket Club and The Crown Inn, Shorwell, before moving to Thorness Bay where he stayed for a couple of years. In
2018 he moved to The Castle Inn, with new landlords Simon Cant and Liam White, as second chef.
On his time off he loved to tinker with cars and motor-bikes, passing his Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) test. He bought his first motor-bike, a Chinese import, which served him well but always needed work to keep it running.
He was due to marry his fiancée, Tash, in September next year, after a long and loving relationship, and they had a one-year-old daughter, Esme.
The death of Lewis is the second tragedy for the family who lost his elder brother Jordan to a cot death when he was only 15 weeks old.
Although there is no official cause of Lewis’s death at the moment, doctors found a huge blood clot on his lungs and it is thought he suffered a cardiac arrest.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to provide Esme a legacy at gofundme.com/f/daddys-little-girl-fund. There is also a fund-raiser and raffle, organised at the Castle Inn on December 16.
Lewis’s funeral is on December 15, when he will be laid to rest next to his brother, Jordan. The family asks anyone who wishes to attend to contact undertakers, William Hall.
Lewis is survived by his parents, Jacky and Ian, brother Connor, fiancee Tash, and baby, Esme.
