Michel Roux facts for kids
Michel Roux in 2008
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| Born | 19 April 1941 Charolles, France |
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| Died | 11 March 2020 (aged 78) Bray, Berkshire, England |
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Michel Roux (born April 19, 1941 – died March 11, 2020) was a famous French chef and restaurateur. He worked mostly in Britain. He was also known as Michel Roux Snr..
Michel and his brother Albert opened two very important restaurants. These were Le Gavroche and The Waterside Inn. Le Gavroche was the first restaurant in Britain to earn three Michelin stars. The Waterside Inn was the first restaurant outside France to keep three stars for 25 years.
Michel Roux was a pastry chef like his brother. They are often called the "godfathers of modern restaurant cuisine in the UK." He received many awards for his cooking. He also got two lifetime achievement awards.
He helped start the Roux Brothers Scholarship in 1984. This scholarship helps young chefs. Michel Roux also worked as a food consultant for big companies. These included British Airways and Celebrity Cruises.
In 1986, he and his brother decided to run their businesses separately. Michel took over The Waterside Inn. He later passed it on to his son, Alain, in 2002. Michel Roux also wrote cookbooks and appeared on TV shows. These included Saturday Kitchen and MasterChef.
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Michel Roux's Early Life and Career Start
Michel Roux was born on April 19, 1941, in Charolles, France. His family lived above his grandfather's meat shop. After World War II, his family moved to Paris. His father opened his own meat shop there.
When Michel was ten, his father left the family. The family shop had to close.
Becoming a Pastry Chef
Michel's older brother, Albert, was already a pastry chef. At age fourteen, Michel decided to follow in his footsteps. He became an apprentice to Camille Loyal in Paris. He worked long hours, sometimes seventy hours a week.
One of his jobs was making many "galettes des rois." These are special cakes for a holiday called Epiphany. After his apprenticeship, Albert helped Michel find another job. Albert was working as a sous chef at the British Embassy in Paris. Michel joined him there as the pastry chef. Later, Michel worked for a famous person named Philippe de Rothschild.
Between 1960 and 1962, Michel served in the French army. He was stationed in France and later in Algeria.
Michel Roux thought about becoming an opera singer. But he decided to join his brother Albert in London instead. He didn't speak English at the time. He later said that people thought he was crazy to move to England. He felt that English cooking was not very good back then.
Opening Famous Restaurants in the UK
In 1967, Michel and Albert opened their first restaurant. It was called Le Gavroche and was in London. Many famous people came to the opening party. These included Charlie Chaplin. In 1972, they opened their second restaurant, The Waterside Inn, in Bray, Berkshire. They also started a catering business.
Earning Michelin Stars
In 1974, Michelin stars were first given out in the UK. Both Le Gavroche and The Waterside Inn earned one star. In 1977, both restaurants earned two Michelin stars.
Le Gavroche moved to a new location in 1982. In the same year, it became the first restaurant in the UK to get three Michelin stars. The Waterside Inn also earned three stars in 1985. In 2010, The Waterside Inn became the first restaurant outside France to hold three Michelin stars for 25 years.
The Roux Brothers Scholarship
In 1984, Albert and Michel started the Roux Brothers Scholarship. This is a yearly competition. It helps one chef train as an apprentice. Famous chefs like Andrew Fairlie and Sat Bains have won this scholarship.
Splitting the Business and Consulting Work
In 1986, the brothers decided to divide their restaurant business. Albert took Le Gavroche, and Michel took The Waterside Inn. Michel also worked as a consultant for British Airways for twenty years. He also consulted for Celebrity Cruises.
Michel's son, Alain Roux, now runs The Waterside Inn. He took over in 2002. In 2008, Michel Roux moved to Switzerland. He also owned a vineyard in France. From 2014, he worked with a British baking company called Bakedin. He reviewed and approved their recipes.
Michel Roux's TV and Radio Appearances
Michel Roux was not a fan of cooking shows that were just for entertainment. He felt they didn't focus enough on proper cooking skills.
The Roux brothers had their own TV show on the BBC in the early 1980s. It was called At Home with the Roux Brothers. They also appeared on a BBC Radio 4 show called Desert Island Discs.
In 2012, a TV series called The Roux Legacy aired. It featured both brothers and their sons. Michel Roux also appeared as a guest judge on MasterChef: The Professionals. He was also on Saturday Kitchen.
Michel Roux's Lasting Impact and Awards
Michel Roux and his brother are known as the "godfathers of modern restaurant cuisine in the UK." This means they had a huge impact on how restaurants operate in Britain today. The Observer Food Monthly newspaper called him "perhaps the finest pastry chef this country has ever had." He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from them in 2011. He also won a similar award from Tatler magazine in 2008.
In 2003, a survey of UK chefs voted the Roux brothers the most influential chefs in the country. Many well-known chefs were trained by the Roux brothers. Michel estimated that "Half of the Michelin star-holders in Britain come from either my brother's kitchen or my kitchen." These chefs include Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White.
Michel Roux received many important awards. In 1976, he won the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award for pastry making. This is a very high honor in France. He was also made a knight in several French orders. In 2002, he was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the UK.
Michel Roux's Family Life
Michel Roux was the brother of Albert Roux. Michel had a son named Alain Roux. Albert's son is also named Michel Roux.
When Alain was ten years old, his parents divorced. Alain and his two sisters moved to France with their mother. Alain would visit his father during school holidays. He worked with Michel in the kitchens. At age fourteen, Alain decided he wanted to be a chef like his father.
Michel Roux passed away on March 11, 2020, at his home in Bray, England. He was 78 years old.
