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Chez Roux at the Langham, London


“I don’t think there’s another job in the world that can bring such satisfaction”


From left: Michel Roux, Silvano Giraldin and Albert Roux


ing chef Rachel [Humphrey] on Le Gavroche at Sea as she’s staying with us, and the twin sisters [Sylvia and Ursula Perberschlager] who worked with me at Le Gavroche will be running the front of house. They’ve been with me for 20 years.


What have been the most memorable moments? Sometimes I used to just stand in a corner and watch service and the interactions and see guests’ faces light up. It was really special and I don’t think there’s another job in the world that can bring such satisfaction. You’re bring- ing such joy. We served royalty, football stars, pop stars, you name it, and yes, it was fun to see them and to meet them too, but almost more important were the people who saved up all year – sometimes more – just to come. When they got up to leave they would be beam- ing from ear to ear. Those, to me, are the most magical and special moments.


When you think back to taking over from your father in 1991, did he give you any advice? Well, he didn’t really let go. I mean, we had a few arguments, which is natural – mostly about the amount of butter we were using – and he was probably harder on me than the rest of the team. But he did find it difficult to let go, so it wasn’t easy in the first few years.


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When did you first feel it was your Le Gavroche? Probably when Michelin decided to knock us back from three to two stars. It actually didn’t affect business at all, thankfully. I said at the time I’d rather be a happy two-star res- taurant than a miserable three. Going to two stars gave me a bit more leeway. But I wanted to tweak and change a few things and we had to evolve while being recognisably French and based on the classics.


There are so many pressures on operators now, do you recall how you felt when you first took on Le Gavroche? Le Gavroche was in pretty dire state finan- cially when I took it on. My dad and my uncle decided to expand very quickly, so there was a huge debt around the business. And dad, bless him, he lived on credit. He was never a hoarder. Uncle was the opposite. We had moments where suppliers would


say it’s cash on delivery, but financially we are a success and were a success and we always made sure the staff were well looked after. I had some heated discussions with Dad about how the business was being run and where we should invest. But I suppose that’s all about learning as well, about being a boss. I find what is severely lacking now is that


chefs are not taught management skills. I wasn’t – I had to learn as I went and it’s a long process. We should be teaching our chefs a lot


more about finance and how to run a business. It’s not just about food – if you’re not making a profit, you haven’t got a business.


What were the best selling dishes? It has to be le soufflé Suisse. We sold over a million over the years. It was the cheapest item on the menu but brought in the best gross profit. The most expensive dish on the menu was the lobster mousse with caviar. When we took it off the menu on 2021 it was £100 for a starter, but the gross profit percentage on it was tiny.


You are driving forward the Roux scholarship with Alain – what does that competition and its legacy mean to you? The competition is brilliant and it’s something that dad and uncle were very proud of having started 40 years ago. I think Alain and I have revamped it a little bit and freshened it up and it’s gone from strength to strength, which is fabulous. Emily is now part of the directors and on the judging team, so the next genera- tion are involved.


What’s your average day now Le Gavroche has closed? It doesn’t matter what time I go to bed, I’m always awake at seven o’clock. I can’t lay around. I take a leisurely time over breakfast – a couple of coffees and then emails, of course, by the dozen. This morning I had a two-hour meeting for a new concept. Sometimes I’ll go to the gym and go for a run; in fact, most days I’ll do some form of exercise because I think it’s important. I do office work and meetings, catch up


with all of my chefs and plan the events. There’s always something. And we’re still wrapping up Le Gavroche, so I’m still keep- ing very busy, but in a good way. Hopefully this time next year I’ll have slowed down a little bit more to enjoy some fishing and go to the football and rugby.


July 2024 | The Caterer | 7


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