Chef’s zest spiced up UK cuisine
Albert Roux Chef
BORN OCTOBER 8, 1935 – DIED JANUARY 4, 2021, AGED 85
WHEN Albert Roux opened Le Gavroche in London in 1967, he not only elevated the British restaurant scene but also prepared a training ground for leading chefs for decades to come.
Together with his younger brother Michel, Albert introduced haute cuisine and classical French cooking to British palates.
There was little competition at the time as swinging London flourished in almost every aspect of culture except for food.
French ingredients were smuggled across the border by Albert’s first wife Monique, and the brothers insisted on using their own suppliers.
In 1974, the restaurant won the UK’s first Michelin star. After moving to nearby Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, it became the first British restaurant to win three Michelin stars, in 1982.
The brothers opened Le Poulbot in 1969 to capitalise on the breakfast and lunch trade of affluent city workers and expanded their ventures with a charcuterie, catering company and bakery. The Waterside Inn on the banks of the Thames in the Berkshire village of Bray followed in 1972. In 1985 it too won three stars.
Workaholic Albert nurtured an impressive list of culinary stars including Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing.
But it could have all been so different.
Born in the Burgundy village of Semur-en-Brionnais, the son of a charcutier, Albert had intended to become a priest at the age of 14. However, he decided that role was not for him and trained as a pastry and commis chef instead.
He was taken on in Cécile de Rothschild’s household where he rose to become her youngest ever head chef.
He arrived in England, aged 18, to work for Lady Nancy Astor and excelled at his apprenticeship. After the brothers opened Le Gavroche, they turned to television programmes but their relationship became shaky and they split their business interests in 1986, with Albert retaining responsibility for Le Gavroche.
Albert’s son Michel Roux Jr took over the legendary restaurant in 1991, with his father’s first wife Monique, while Albert increasingly focused on consultancy work and fishing. He later published several cookbooks and was made an OBE in 2002.
He was married three times, most recently to Maria Rodrigues, who survives him along with daughter Danielle and Michel Jr.