Michel Roux Jr.
| Michel Roux Jnr | |
|---|---|
 Michel Roux | |
| Born | Pembury, Kent[1] |
| Education |
Patissier Hellegouarche Le Gavroche Alain Chapel French Army/Elysee Palace Pierre Koffman Emanuel School |
| Spouse(s) | Giselle |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | http://www.michelroux.co.uk |
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Culinary career | |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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Michel Albert Roux (born 23 May 1960),[1] known as Michel Roux, Jr., is a French-English two-star Michelin chef at the London restaurant Le Gavroche.[2]
Early life
Roux was born at Pembury maternity hospital in Kent, whilst his father Albert Roux was working for the horse race trainer Major Peter Cazalet.[3] The family moved to London in 1967, when Albert and his brother Michel Roux opened Le Gavroche. Roux Jr. was subsequently educated at the private Emanuel School in Battersea, south-west London
Apprenticeship and training
After leaving school at age 16, Roux undertook apprenticeship work with Master Patissier, Hellegouarche in Paris.[1] From summer 1979 through January 1980, he worked as a commis de cuisine at Le Gavroche, under both his father and his uncle. He then spent two years as a commis de cuisine trainee under Alain Chapel at his hotel and restaurant in Mionnay, in the Rhône-Alpes region near Lyon.[1][2]
After undertaking basic training with the French Army, from February 1982 to March 1983 he served his military service at the Elysee Palace, working for both Presidents Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand. Having finished his military service, Roux then worked for four months in Paris: two months at Charcuterie Gérard Mothu in St-Mandé; and then two months at Boucherie Lamartine on the Avenue Victor-Hugo.[2]
Returning to London, in August 1983 he learned accountancy at Finlay Robertson, before becoming the Sous Chef at Gavvers. He then took the opportunity to work with renowned chef Pierre Koffman at his Chelsea restaurant La Tante Claire, reverting to the rank of Commis Chef to do so. From October to December 1983, he worked at the Mandarin Hotel, Hong Kong.
Career
Having served his apprenticeship and training mainly away from the Roux brothers' British business empire, he joined his uncle at the Waterside Inn, in Bray, Berkshire in 1985, before working with his father at Le Gavroche from the April of the same year. He then worked in and managed the Roux brothers catering business for three years, before returning to Le Gavroche in 1990, the year the two brothers split their business down family lines.[2] When his father retired in 1993, Michel Jr took over the world famous restaurant.
A food consultant to the Walbrook club since 2003, he also consults for the fine dining providers Restaurant Associates. Roux has also written several books, including Le Gavroche Cookbook; The Marathon Chef; and Matching Food and Wine, which was named the best book on matching wine and food at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.[4]
Media
Roux has made various television appearances, including on his friend Gordon Ramsay's ITV produced Hell's Kitchen, and as an expert judge on the BBC Two programme MasterChef: The Professionals (2008–13). In 2012 he appeared as a guest judge on Masterchef South Africa. From 2013 until 2014, Roux co-presented BBC Two's Food and Drink alongside Kate Goodman. In 2013 he appeared as one of the mentors in the series The Chef's Protege.
In March 2014 Roux announced that he was leaving the BBC due to a conflict over his brand ambassadorship for Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes.[5] In 2015, Roux returned to television and presented First Class Chefs for the Disney Channel and Kitchen Impossible with Michel Roux Jr for Channel 4.
Personal life
Roux is married to French-national Giselle, who has worked in the restaurant business for years and is currently the secretary at Le Gavroche.[6] The couple have a daughter, Emily, who is training to be a chef. The family lives in London.[4]
A lover of alcohol, Roux does not drink between Monday and Friday,[7] but enjoys Krug champagne at the weekend. Roux is a big rugby fan and is an honorary member of Harlequins and goes to most matches.[8] He also likes Manchester United,[9] and is a keen marathon runner, having run the London marathon twelve times to raise funds for the children's charity VICTA (Visually Impaired Children Taking Action).[1][4] Michel's interest in this charity stems partly from his own experiences with vision loss due to retinal detachment in 2004 and 2007 (one in each eye) and cataracts in 2008 and 2010 (again, one in each eye). Subsequent medical treatments led to improvements in vision.[10]
Publications
- Le Gavroche Cookbook (2001), London: W&N (Orion), ISBN 978-0-304-35573-0
- The Marathon Chef: Food for Getting Fit (2003), London: W&N (Orion), ISBN 978-0-297-84309-2
- Le Gavroche Cookbook: Ten Recipes from One of the World's Great Restaurants (2005), London: Phoenix, ISBN 978-0-297-84392-4
- Matching Food And Wine: Classic And Not So Classic Combinations (2005), London: W&N (Orion), ISBN 978-0-297-84379-5
- Michel Roux: A Life In The Kitchen (2009), London: W&N (Orion), ISBN 978-0-297-84482-2
- Cooking with The Master Chef: Food For Your Family & Friends (2010), London: W&N (Orion), ISBN 978-0-297-86309-0
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Michel Roux, Jr.". relaischateaux.com. Retrieved 2001-01-13. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - 1 2 3 4 "Biography : CHEF MICHEL ROUX JNR". Hub UK. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
- ↑ "Albert Roux, OBE". Roux Scholarship. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- 1 2 3 Amanda Mosle Freidman (24 September 2007). "Michel Roux Jr. keeps tradition alive at Le Gavroche". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
- ↑ Press Association (12 March 2014). "Michel Roux Jr criticises 'frustrating' BBC as he leaves MasterChef". The Guardian.
- ↑ Patalay, Ajesh (11 September 2009). "Michel Roux Jr on MasterChef: interview". Telegraph (London).
- ↑ "Mind & Body – Michel Roux Jr". BBC Wales. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
- ↑ Edworthy, Sarah (14 February 2008). "Michel Roux Jr savours flavours of two nations". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
- ↑ Wintle, Angela (4 March 2011). "World of Michel Roux Jr, chef". The Daily Telegraph (London).
- ↑ Anstead, Mark (2 April 2011). "'I started the day seeing clearly - then everything went black...': The moment MasterChef host Michel Roux Jr suffered a detached retina". The Daily Mail. London.