I didn’t interview Michel Roux Jr for the reasons you might think of: the same country of origin as mine or the same passion for sport and running I share with him. No, the main reason was that I really wanted to know more about the man who runs one of the most prestigious restaurant in London awarded 2 Michelin Stars, and also the son of the famous Albert Roux, who, with his brother Michel, established Le Gavroche as the first true French gastronomic restaurant which received 3 Michelin Stars in England back in 1982. I wanted to know what it would have been to have lived his fascinating life. I am talking about the very difficult and demanding steps needed to become a chef, as an apprentice first and then all the training he did in many restaurants before taking over the family business as head chef. Michel Roux Jr is a simple man, with no gimmicks, like his food.He is faithful to the finest ingredients cooked to perfection. And he had the generosity to provide me with half an hour of his time on a sunny but very cold morning of March…   Olivier Bourseau: Good morning Michel, thank you very much for having us at le Gavroche for this interview. It is a great honour for me to speak to you. You have dedicated you life to food, or at least your career. You started gaining your apprenticeship with a Maitre Patissier back in 1976, you were 16. Did you know by then that you would become a chef and did you have the passion already? Michel Roux Jr: The passion already yes of course! I was almost born in a kitchen and that’s fact, so I have always been in a kitchen environment. I had the passion and the desire but I didn’t know which path life would take. I think at that age you don’t know for sure where you are going to end up. And so although I knew that I wanted to do something in the industry, whether it is a pastry chef, or in the kitchen, or something to do with the wine or whatever the business, I knew that I would end up somewhere in the business. Below is Michel Roux Jr in the kitchen of Le Gavroche, right after our interview. Olivier Bourseau: Coming from such a great family of cooks (your Father and Uncle Albert and Michel Roux) must have been a fantastic thing in terms of inspiration and eating an amazing food at home. How was the atmosphere at home during family meals and were your father and uncle talking about their business much? Michel Roux Jr: My mother used to cook at home for the family and she is a very good cook but as a youngster, as a child I obviously didn’t see my father very much because he was at work most of the time and very busy. But we would always get together on Sunday to have a Sunday lunch which is very important I feel. It is something which we should do more. Families should get together more and eat together to spend some good time around. So this was a very precious time, mealtime with family. Olivier Bourseau: The training you have done as a “commis de cuisine” (French chef apprenticeship) has got a reputation for being very tough and nearly military in style so you have to have great discipline. How tough was it for you and how do you see it today? Michel Roux Jr: I moved straight into the kitchen to Alain Chapel in Mionnay (Rhône region in France), and he ran a very tight kitchen. Hardly were we allowed to speak, it was much disciplined, which is good. It is a good foundation, good grounding, because you need a certain amount of discipline, and self discipline as well which is very important. That’s certainly helped me through the rest of my career. Olivier Bourseau: You mentioned in your biography that one of the biggest influences on your cooking style was Alain Chapel at Mionnay. Why was that? Michel Roux Jr: The use of the best ingredients possible, very seasonal, and he was innovative, without loosing his roots and loosing his French gastronomy style, the true French gastronomy. So there were no gimmicks, very true flavours, which is something I have always tried to aspire to. Olivier Bourseau: You also worked as a “commis de cuisine” at the French presidential palace under Giscard D’estaing and Francois Mitterand. Which memories do you keep from this experience and what were the favourite food for Giscard d’Estaing and Mitterand? Michel Roux Jr: I saw very little of Giscard. I saw the last month of Giscard at the French presidential palace. It was party time, which was great because I wouldn’t say that he abused the system but he knew that he was leaving so he was enjoying himself during his last moments at the “Palais”. He was most definitely a fine gourmet, and appreciated the best food, likewise Mitterand. Mitterand was somebody who enjoyed the best of life and I had a wonderful time cooking there because I saw things that I hadn’t seen before like kilos and kilos of truffles, and Foie Gras, and lobster, and caviar… So it really was a fantastic moment for me. Memories I could tell you? (He pauses and is thinking) I have some funny anecdotes: For example Giscard would phone down to the kitchen on a Sunday evening and ask for 24 oysters! Where do you go in Paris to get the best oysters for the president at 9 o’clock in the evening? We didn’t have any in the fridge so we had to run out and go to the best Brasserie on the Champs Elysees and buy 24 oysters. You don’t say no! You just go and do it! They are some wonderful memories. Olivier Bourseau: You have worked your way very hard through the different steps to become a Chef, working in various restaurants and climbing the ladder from “commis”, to “sous-chefs” and Chef to finally Chef and Head Chef at le Gavroche in 1991. Has your aim been to go back to the family business always and take over so that you can perpetuate the family tradition? Michel Roux Jr: It certainly wasn’t an aim when I started off as a young apprentice and “commis”. But the more I grew into it…. Obviously it is something very sacred. Le Gavroche is something very sacred and very special, and it is a great honour for me to carry it on. Olivier Bourseau: Le Gavroche is seen as a prestigious restaurant serving traditional /classical French cuisine with a slightly modern twist. Would you agree with that statement and how do you see the recent trend of nearly scientific or molecular cuisine being done by chefs like Ferran Adria (El Bulli), Marc Veyrat, Heston Blumenthal (Fat Duck) where they use a nearly scientific approach to food and taste? Michel Roux Jr: I think it is interesting and the ones you mentioned are geniuses but there is only a certain amount of geniuses on this planet. I think, and I am pretty sure, and Le Gavroche is testimony to this fact that people don’t want to eat that style of food all the time. They would far rather eat Le Gavroche style of food which is comfort food, and true gastronomy. There can be nothing better in my view than a perfect piece of beef or chicken or whatever, the perfect ingredient for example cooked properly without any gimmicks to it without any additives, without any of that molecular gastronomy style. It has to be in my view the way forward and I think people are coming back to that. Olivier Bourseau: How do you get inspiration to create your new dishes? Michel Roux Jr: I get inspiration from the seasons, inspiration from books, and eating out! I eat out a lot all over the world. Olivier Bourseau: Apart from food, le Gavroche is recognised as having an exceptional wine list, if not the best in London. How important is wine to you and what are your 3 favorite styles of wine or regions? Michel Roux Jr: It is vitally important as an experience when you eat. And not necessarily in a restaurant but I think that wine should be involved in any meal. Wine can act as a seasoning almost to the food, it can enhance the food and it works both ways obviously but I think that it’s an integral part. I think chefs should learn more about wine. Very often they would design menus without taking into consideration the wines. If you look for example at the molecular gastronomy, in my point of view the molecular gastronomy does nothing for wines and you can not match good wines with that style of food. And regarding my personal taste, it is very varied. At Le Gavroche the wine List is obviously predominantly French because it is a French restaurant but I do enjoy New World wines. I have just come back from South Africa, and tasted some fabulous wines there. Vin de Constance (sweet wine) was one of them. Lowell Jooste is the owner of the Estate Klein Constantia. He is also making a superb red wine called Anwilka (Michel is talking about a new Gem wine which is the result of a joint venture between Bruno Prats, former owner of Château Cos-d'Estournel, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, co-proprietor of Château Angélus in Bordeaux, and Lowell Jooste of Klein Constantia. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 63% and Shiraz 37%). That’s one particular wine that we will be listing here as well. So I enjoy tasting wines, I enjoy finding gems like this for example to put onto our wine list. Olivier Bourseau: You are a great runner, have run marathons many times, how do you combine your busy work life with this passion and how sport impact your cooking? Michel Roux Jr: I think sport is very important for life in general. Not just for chefs although saying that it certainly helped me to unwind. It’s a great stress buster! You can go out in the afternoon and run for an hour and come back and my problems are solved and you feel a lot better for it physically and mentally. So that’s the main reason. It hasn’t changed my style of cooking because I have always been sort of modern classic so less cream, less butter, not as heavy. So I wouldn’t say it has affected my style of cooking. Olivier Bourseau: Do you cook much at home and how do you approach food with your family? Michel Roux Jr: Food with my family has always been very straightforward: the best ingredients cooked in the simplest way. Sometimes the mistake that people do at home is to try to overcomplicate things. Olivier Bourseau: Finally you have contributed to many TV programs about food and are seen as a very important and respected chef in this country. Do you consider yourself a celebrity chef or not? Michel Roux Jr: No, I do not consider myself a celebrity chef! I consider myself a chef although I suppose I am well known. But not as well known as the celebrity chefs…. Olivier Bourseau: Michel, thank you very much for your time!