Egon Miklos Ronay (24 July 1915 – 12 June 2010)[1] was a Hungarian-born food critic who wrote and published a series of guides to British and Irish restaurants and hotels in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
[2] The family moved to Budapest when he was two,[3] and with the onset of World War II, he was commissioned in the Hungarian Army serving with the occupying forces after the First and Second Vienna Awards in southern Slovakia and northern Transylvania.
[4] The Ronay family business suffered during wartime, and was taken over by the Communists once Hungary fell under Soviet control after the defeat of the Nazis.
[6] He then borrowed £4,000 and took over The Marquee, a 39-seat former tea room, near Harrods, putting classic French dishes on the menu, which was unusual for post-war Britain.
After TV chef Fanny Cradock visited with her husband, Johnnie, Ronay built up contacts with the press, and later began to write a food column for The Daily Telegraph.