Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc sets sights on capital for new restaurant

 
BBC/Jean Baptiste Merillot
Rod Kitson7 April 2014

Raymond Blanc is planning to open a new restaurant in London.

The Michelin-starred chef has a chain of brasseries in the capital, but his only fine dining restaurant is Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire.

Blanc told the Standard: “I am going to open a restaurant in London very soon. It’s truly exciting.

“For a long time I have wanted to, and it is going to happen.”

The 64-year-old French chef said he was “about to” secure a premises for the new London venture, but wouldn’t be drawn on a location.

“My geography is terrible,” he joked. “Will it be fine dining? Yes. I can’t say exactly when it will open — it is all under wraps at the moment.”

Blanc also revealed he would be interested in taking over from Michel Roux Jr as presenter on the BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals.

“If I was offered the position I would definitely consider it, there’s no doubt,” he said. “It is a good position and you can pass on a strong message. Michel was brilliant at what he was doing. It’s sad that he will not return this year.”

Blanc has owned Le Manoir, which has two Michelin stars, since 1983, and is currently working on a book about the restaurant.

It has its own heritage garden which supplies the kitchen and “would supply some of the food to the new restaurant” too, Blanc said.

But he admitted that chefs in the capital find it harder to be self-sufficient, because of a lack of space. “It is much more difficult for chefs in big cities like London to have the same philosophy,” he said.

“First a chef needs to reconnect with where the food comes from, to understand quality, variety, sustainability — because as chefs we have responsibilities.

“We cannot just grab everything from the sea, from the earth, the mountains. We need to be more revolutionary in terms of gastronomy, in regard to connecting with the deeper values of gastronomy.

“It’s not just about pretty food, the outside of food, but it’s about the heart of it, which is happening more now.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in