Chef Blanc admits it: Maman is boss when it comes to cooking

AS one of the country’s most revered chefs, Raymond Blanc has worked with the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Michael Caines and Marco Pierre White.

But the maestro behind the two Michelin-star Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire takes direction from only one person when it comes to cooking — his 95-year-old mother Anne-Marie, who he always refers to as “Maman”. Blanc’s son Olivier told the Standard: “I have to say the only person he listens to in the kitchen — really — is Grandma. She is the matriarch of the family and dominates in the kitchen more than he does. She really is in charge. It is lovely to see.”

Blanc, 68, born in Besançon in the Franche-Comté region of France, says he was inspired to become a chef by his mother. He added: “Food is about love in our family. It is about imagination and fun and creativity and coming together. Maman Blanc was so important to my l i f e a n d my c a r e e r. Watching Maman Blanc do her thing is quite resplendent.”

Blanc, awarded an honorary OBE for his services to British food in 2008, also spoke about Britons’ changing relationship with food. He said: “There has been a food revolution in the UK. Twenty years ago, no one cooked. Today, I think there has been a renaissance of family being interested in cooking and eating together.

Blanc and his son were speaking as they launched a partnership with kitchen brand Kenwood, with a new recipe for the dessert “îles flottantes”, or Floating Islands, based on a recipe created by Maman Blanc.

⬤ More details: kenwoodworld.com/uk

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Family affair: Raymond Blanc with son Olivier and mother Anne-Marie