Chefs – Cooking Masterclass

Albert Henri Roux is a restaurateur and chef. He was born October 8, 1935 in Semur-en-Brionnais, in the region of Saône-et-Loire in France.

He commenced his career as an apprentice patissier at age 14, then at age 18 moved to the UK and undertook various jobs, before stint in the National Service and at the British Embassy in Paris. He returned to London to work as a chef for the Cazalet family.

In 1967, after eight years working for Major Peter Cazalet, he and his younger brother Michel opened Le Gavroche restuarant in London, Britain’s first Michelin-starred restaurant.

Trivia

Roux was the son of a charcutier
Roux once made an appearance on the British sitcom Chef! playing himself in the 1993 episode “The Big Cheese”.
In a 2003 poll of UK chefs Albert and his brother Michel were voted the most influential chefs in the country
Albert Roux’s son, Michel Roux Jr, is a two-starred Michelin chef and runs Le Gavroche restaurant in London.
Albert has been awarded OBE in 2002, and the Legion of Honour in 2005.

If you are thinking celebrity chefs, then Jamie Oliver is one of the first to come to mind. He became popular as a cheeky TV chef on his first BBC cooking show the Naked Chef.

His parents own a pub, the Cricketer’s in Clavering, Essex, which has long prided itself on the quality of its food.

He left school with no qualifications, and studied at Westminster Catering College before working as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio’s restaurant in London.

His partner is ‘Jools’, who featured too on his first series. They are now married and have two children.

He is now making a name for himslef as a hard-hitting campaigner – he has tackled school canteens and battery hens.

His cookbooks sell millions a year. He runs a restuarant ‘Fifteen’, a staffed by disadvantaged teenagers trained by Oliver himself and featured on his TV show Jamie’s Kitchen.