By DONNA BALANCIA – Miguel Murillo, the head chef at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on the Sunset Strip passed away late Tuesday night from unknown causes.
“He was more than beloved, he was like a brother to me,” said Rainbow owner Michael Maglieri. “We’re devastated.”
Maglieri said around 4 p.m. Murillo was driving to the store when he experienced pain and pulled over and called for help. Paramedics brought him to the hospital and Maglieri received a call around midnight informing him his dear friend was gone.
Murillo, 66, leaves behind a wife and three sons.
“He was the heart and soul of the restaurant,” Maglieri said. “He was the Number One chef.”
The restaurant closed the kitchen after Maglieri got the call. A worker at the Rainbow had informed patrons eating on the scene late Tuesday night.
“We’re all torn up and we’re closing now, our head chef has passed away,” a heartbroken server said to customers.
It has been a tough go for the staffers at the Rainbow as their favorite patron, the famous Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead passed away earlier this year also. A tribute service was held at the restaurant for Lemmy.
Murillo had been with the Rainbow since it opened.
Murillo is honored on the back of the famous Rainbow menu with the following story:
“The owners of the Rainbow Bar and Grill certainly well known for their good taste had been searching the gourmet capitals of the world for a chief chef that would equal their clientele’s culinary taste.
“Their search had been fruitless until one Sunday afternoon when they walked in the kitchen of the Rainbow to find Miguel. The busboy, standing over a hot stove. Practicing his epicurean feats on his day off.
“‘Let me taste what you are making,’ one of the owners asked politely. After savouring the morsel of food that Miguel had given him, the owners decided to spare no expense to import the services of Miguel … Miguel is loved by the owners, staff and patrons …”
Maglieri said no cause of death is yet known, but he believed Murillo had high blood pressure.
More information to come as it is available. ###
