Michel Roux Jr
Legendary chef Michel Roux Jr was raised in Shipbourne, Kent where his father Albert Roux OBE worked as a private chef for the Cazalet family. His earliest food memories are the smells of the Fairlawne kitchen – pastry, sugar caramelizing and stews – where he played under the table while his father and mother Monique prepared the meals.
After deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps, he left school at 16 for the first of several challenging apprenticeships at Maître Patissier, Hellegouarche in Paris from 1976 to 1979. He was then Commis de Cuisine at Alain Chapel’s signature restaurant at Mionay near Lyon, which Michel cites as his biggest influence. His military service was spent in the kitchens at the Elysée Palace at the time of Presidents Giscard d’Estaing and François Mitterrand. He also spent time at Boucherie Lamartine and Charcuterie Mothu in Paris, and the Gavers Restaurant in London.
After a stint at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong, he returned to London and worked at La Tante Claire before joining the family business. He took over running Le Gavroche from his father in 1991, gradually changing the style of cooking to his own – staying true to the restaurant’s roots of classic French cuisine but with a slightly lighter, more modern twist.
Michel opened Roux at Parliament Square in May 2010 (closed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) with Restaurant Associates, part of the Compass Group UK and Ireland, and in November 2010, he opened Roux at The Landau at London’s prestigious luxury hotel, The Langham, London. Michel further strengthened his relationship with The Langham and in 2015 announced that Chez Roux Ltd would operate the hotel’s food and beverage outlets and conference and events banqueting, to include Palm Court and Private Dining by Roux. In 2017, The Langham and Michel launched The Wigmore, a new modern British tavern located on Regent Street, designated as a new social institution with a touch of London polish.
In addition, in association with luxury hoteliers ICMI, Michel oversees four Chez Roux restaurants in Scotland, at Inverlochy Castle, Crossbasket, Cromlix and Greywalls.
Michel also co-founded Chez Roux with his late father, Albert Roux OBE. Chez Roux is the culinary dynasty’s catering arm, which offers unparalleled food, drink, and service at your home or chosen venue, alongside hospitality at prestigious sporting events including the Jockey Club Festivals and the Wimbledon Championships.
Michel was a judge and presenter on the BBC’s popular prime time show, MasterChef: The Professionals, from 2008 to 2013, and presented the series Great British Food Revival.
Michel fronted BBC2’s Food and Drink, in 2014 and presented a documentary on Escoffier, whose revolutionary approach to fine cuisine has inspired Michel and many others. In the same year, Michel went on a journey to create the perfect chocolate for the Le Gavroche kitchen. Filmed by the BBC, in Paris he discovered chocolatiers, Cacao Barry and their Or Noir Lab.
2015 saw Michel lead the BBC2 programme, Michel Roux’s Service, with Fred Sirieix, in which they set out on a personal mission to train eight young people as front-of-house superstars. Michel’s enthusiasm for the next generation continued to grow in his most recent projects outside of the kitchen. The four-part Channel 4 series in 2015, Kitchen Impossible, explored the hurdles faced by people with disabilities and mental health issues when finding employment. Michel then went on to present a new program on his first ever solo project with the Disney Channel: First Class Chefs, which launched in June 2015. The show followed kids aged 9-11 competing to showcase their restaurant skills.
In Michel’s series, Channel 4’s Hidden Kitchens, broadcast in 2017, he delved deeper into his passion and close, personal relationship with the kitchen, uncovering inspiring and unconventional restaurants throughout the UK. In June of the same year, Channel 4 created a new six-part program presented by Michel called Tried and Tasted: The Ultimate Shopping List. Michel, together with his old friend Fred Sirieix and food critic Jay Rayner, led a panel of food experts tasting supermarket versions of the same foods to decide on ‘The Ultimate Shopping List’.
Michel’s latest TV show, Michel Roux’s French Country Kitchen, premiered in September 2021 exclusively on Food Network, or is available to stream on discovery+. In this visually stunning series, Michel takes us to his spiritual home in the South of France to share a delightful slice of the life he enjoys every time he holidays there. It’s a gorgeous culinary journey through the landscapes of Southern France on a quest to capture the spirit of the food Michel most loves to eat.
In 2013, Michel launched his fifth cookbook, The French Kitchen, focusing on traditional French home cooking. His other books include Cooking with the Master Chef: Food for your family & friends; Le Gavroche Cookbook; The Marathon Chef; Matching Food and Wine; and Michel Roux: A Life In The Kitchen. In 2017, Michel published a new cookbook ‘celebrating the whole beast’ called Les Abats, dedicated entirely to offal. In Michel’s most recent cookbook, The French Revolution (published in October 2018), he revisits classic dishes from his traditional French upbringing but takes a modern approach that adapts his favourite recipes to suit the modern home cook, looking for lighter, healthier options.
Always keen to support and develop the hospitality industry, Michel is Co-Chairman of The Roux Scholarship, along with his cousin Alain Roux. The Roux Scholarship is a renowned competition for chefs under 30 who are working in the UK that gives them the opportunity to win a three-month stage at any three-star Michelin restaurant in the world, all expenses paid. Michel is also involved in other educational bodies such as The Savoy Educational Trust: an independent, grant giving charitable trust, whose main aim is to advance and develop education, training and qualifications within the hospitality industry; The College in Bournemouth & Poole; and is the UK Judge of the Prix Culinaire Taittinger.
In 2018 Michel’s daughter Emily Roux, and her husband Diego Ferrari, opened their first restaurant, Caractère, in London’s Notting Hill.
Michel is a keen sportsman and he ran his 21st marathon in 2016 to raise funds for VICTA, a charity supporting visually impaired children, for which Michel has been a long-term Patron. He is also an honorary member of the Harlequin rugby club.
TIMELINE
May 1960
Born in England, son of Albert Roux OBE, who founded Le Gavroche in 1967 with his brother Michel Roux
1976 & 1979
Gained an apprenticeship working in Paris under Maitre Patissier, Hellegouarche
1979 - 1980
Commis de Cuisine, Le Gavroche, LondonJan.
1980 - 1982
Trained as Commis de Cuisine under Alain Chapel, at Mionnay, Lyon (probably the most predominant influence on his work)
1982 - 1983
Commis de Cuisine, Elysée Palace, serving under both Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand
1983
Boucherie Lamartine in Paris
1983
Charcuterie Mothu
1983
Finlay Robertson Chartered Accountants, London
1983 - 1984
Sous Chef, Gavvers Restaurant, London
1984 - 1984
Commis de Cuisine, Tante Claire, London
1984
Mandarin Hotel, Hong Kong
1985
Waterside Inn, Bray
1985 - 1990
Chef, Roux Restaurants, London (incorporating: Roux Patisserie, Roux Lamartine, Le Poulbot Brasserie, Le Gamin, as well as outside and contract catering)
1991
Chef de Cuisine, Le Gavroche, London
1996
Keen London Marathon runner in support of the children's charity VICTA
2004
Professional guest/judge on BBC2's MasterChe
2006
Consultant to the City's most regarded fine dining caterer, Restaurant Associates
2008
Member of the Wine Committee to The Royal Household
2008 – 2013
Presenter on Masterchef: The Professionals
2010
Opens Roux at Parliament Square with Restaurant Associates, and Roux at The Landau at The Langham Hotel with father Albert
2011
Presenter on BBC's 'Service' and 'Great British Food Revival', launches range of Global knives, and launches GreenPan range of saucepans with The Cookware Company
2012
Presenter on 'The First Master Chef: Michel Roux Jr on Escoffier', and featured in 'The Roux Legacy' on the Good Food channel
2013
Presenter BBC's 'Food and Drink' and 'The Chef's Protégé'
November 2013
New book 'The French Kitchen' was published - 'In the French Kitchen, there is a wonderful respect for food; it is something to be savoured and enjoyed. Michel Roux Jr's stunning cookbook embraces the culinary alchemy of French food'
2015
Michel launches Roux Brew with Fourpure Brewing Company
2015
Michel fronted the Channel 4 series, Kitchen Impossible, exploring the hurdles faced by people with disabilities and mental health issues when finding employment
June 2015
Presented ‘First Class Chefs’ on the Disney Channel, a show where kids aged 9-11 compete to showcase their restaurant skills
2016
Michel celebrates 25 years at the helm of Le Gavroche
2017
Michel and the Roux family celebrate Le Gavroche’s 50th anniversary
March 2017
Michel presented the Channel 4 series, Hidden Kitchens
May 2017
Michel launches special 50th anniversary edition bottle of Little Bird Gin
June 2017
Michel, Albert, and Emily Roux sign with Tottenham Hotspur to provide fine-dining at the Club’s premium offering at the new stadium
June 2017
Michel fronts Channel 4’s Tried and Tasted: The Ultimate Shopping List, with Fred Siriex and Jay Rayner
July 2017
Michel launches The Wigmore at The Langham, London
October 2017
Michel publishes Les Abats, a cookbook dedicated to celebrating offal, to change the way we think using whole animals and produce enticing and delicious meals
October 2018
Michel publishes The French Revolution cookbook, a delicious collection of French recipes for the modern home cook.
October 2018
Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari open Caractère Restaurant in Notting Hill, London.
September 2021
The first series of Michel Roux’s French Country Kitchen, premiered exclusively on Food Network, and is available to stream on discovery+.
August 2023
Michel publishes Michel Roux At Home, a collection of simple and delicious dishes from Michel’s home kitchen
January 2024
Le Gavroche closes its doors at Upper Brook Street
February and September 2024
Roux down the River – Michel’s latest TV series are aired on Food Network
May 2024
Michel opens ‘Chez Roux’ in the Palm Court at The Langham Hotel, London. The restaurant has been inspired by Michel’s childhood memories: life in rural Kent in the 1960s, being raised at the Fairlawne estate where his father Albert Roux OBE worked as a private chef for the Cazalet family, and the first menus from Le Gavroche in 1967.
