Long before Gordon Ramsay threw his first tantrum in the kitchen and
even before Jamie Oliver was born, there was Michel Roux. Arriving in
London in 1967 from his native France, Michel, together with his brother
Albert, opened Le Gavroche. It was a phenomenal success and went on to
become the first restaurant in Britain to be awarded three Michelin
stars.
Back in the sixties, he and Albert were the first “celebrity” chefs
without courting celebrity. They became famous because of their
consummate culinary skills, not because they had eccentric haircuts or
swore at their staff.
We are sitting in the welcoming, yet elegant, lounge of The Waterside
Inn at Bray, where Michel has been chef-patron for the past thirty-two
years. During that time, not only has his restaurant acquired three
Michelin stars, but he, personally, has been awarded an honorary OBE and
is the proud holder of France’s premier order, Chevalier dans l’Ordre de
la Legion d’Honneur.
In fact Regis Bulot, International President of the Relais & Chateaux
luxury hotel consortium, recently said of Michel, “If he pinned all his
decorations on his whites, he would look like a Royal Navy Admiral!”
Michel has certainly earned the worldwide respect he is accorded. The
recipient of countless culinary honours, he cooked for the Queen’s 70th
birthday party at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle. “It was to be here, but
the press got wind of it,” he confides with a wicked smile. He has even
worked his gastronomic magic at the Kremlin, where he was the first
non-Russian to cook there since the Revolution.
As we sip cappuccinos it is clear that Michel, suave, charming and a
quintessential Frenchman, has no time for TV gimmicks. He hates the way
that some chefs, mentioning no names, have turned the culinary art into
a cheap display of loutish behaviour for a television audience.
“It is sad for me to see people selling food with scandal,” he says. He
points to his kitchen. “There are twenty two chefs in there and you will
see there is no fear. There is good teamwork and there is respect for
each other. Every day I go in and I shake their hands and give the girls
a kiss. That doesn’t stop them from listening to me.”
Meanwhile, in the dining room, an army of uniformed staff has gathered
to be told what will be on today’s luncheon menu. They are meticulously
briefed so they can answer any guests’ questions. “That is something
that you rarely see nowadays,” says the master chef.
It is this attention to detail, not only to standards of service but, of
course to the cuisine, using the season’s freshest and best ingredients
available, that has earned Michel Roux his reputation as a living legend
among chefs and gourmets the World over.
It is a role he takes seriously. In 1983 he, together with Albert,
established one of the most coveted scholarship schemes in the
gastronomic world. Winners of the Roux Scholarship have gone on to
become an esteemed culinary elite. This has subsequently produced five
Michelin-starred chefs, with half of these chefs in Britain having gone
through the kitchens of the Roux brothers.
He also does much work for charity, helping to raise thousands of pounds
for projects such as the British Airways Dreamflight.
Naturally, his expertise is in demand all over the World, but it is
Bray, where he has lived for the last thirty-two years, that he calls
his home. It was in 1972, following the success of Le Gavroche in
London, that Michel decided to open another restaurant outside the
capital. The Thames Valley seemed an obvious choice and a particular pub
at Bray caught his eye.
“It was quite something,” he recalls, shaking his head. “There was an
earth floor in the kitchen and the dining room was very small. It was
not only dirty and grotty, but you couldn’t even see the river from the
window.”
Today the less-than-inviting former pub is hardly recognisable. Huge
structural alterations were made. Michel was determined to make the most
of the inn’s glorious position on the Thames by giving diners a
panoramic view of the river.
As we look out onto the glassy water, swans swim by serenely, ducks
waddle along the wooden jetty and the whole, picturesque scene is framed
by the fronds of weeping willows and plump-headed bull rushes. “There is
so much beauty here,” says Michel, as we stroll outside on the terrace.
“And I saw the potential.”
That potential also means he has teamed up with the acclaimed Cliveden
House Hotel, a few miles upriver at Taplow, to offer Champagne and
canapé cruises on three superb original launches from April to October.
Michel’s former protégé, Mark Dodson, is now Executive Chef at Cliveden,
the magnificent former home of the Astors, and the two still enjoy a
close bond.
While The Waterside’s idyllic situation comes into its own in the
summer, in the depths of winter the restaurant is still invariably full.
“Even when there is snow on the ground they come,” muses Michel.
It is little wonder, of course, that lovers of fine food brave the
elements to sample what this world-renowned restaurant has to offer.
Among its better-known clientele are local residents Terry and Helen
Wogan, who have been regular guests for many years, alongside Michael
and Mary Parkinson. Members of the Royal family and international
glitterati, who jet in to nearby Heathrow whenever they please, are also
devotees of Michel’s classic French cuisine with a contemporary twist.
From the moment you walk in to the low-ceilinged 17th century inn, you
are made to feel welcome. As you might expect, the service is courteous,
professional and exemplary.
A glance at the menu will also tell you how this restaurant has earned
its Michelin stars. To start, choose from pan-fried lobster medallions
with a white port sauce and ginger flavoured vegetable julienne, or two
poached eggs served in a pastry case with asparagus tips and a light
mouselline sauce. Follow this with rolled loin of lamb with grain
mustard, crisp pancetta, soft white beans and girolle mushrooms, served
with a light savoury jus or roasted challandais duck with a lemon and
thyme jus, potato and garlic mousselline. And to finish why not try warm
golden plum soufflé or Péché gourmand selon ‘Michel’ – a selection of
six of Monsieur Roux’s mouth-watering desserts?
And if you wish to linger in this gourmet’s paradise a little longer, an
overnight stay in one of The Waterside’s elegant guestrooms will
complete a unique experience.
Robyn Roux, Michel’s Australian wife of twenty years, has taken charge
of the interior decor and her distinctive, romantic touch is evident
everywhere, from the fine cotton sheets on the beds to the fresh flowers
in all the rooms.
While Michel handed over the day-today running of The Waterside to his
son Alain two years ago, he remains passionate about his art. His latest
recipe book, “Only the Best,” is dedicated to those he calls “the
artisans whose produce enables me to cook the way I do ... They ... are
as dedicated to their products as I am to the finished result on the
plate.”
When I ask him about him about these “artisans,” he tells me: “These are
the people who produce our food – the farmers, the cheese-makers, the
fishermen.”
His concern about the state of the nation’s health because of the
heavily processed food in our diets is well known. “We are what we eat
and our health depends on it,” he says. The problem, he believes, lies
largely with our shopping habits. “In Britain at least 70 per cent of
our food is distributed by supermarkets. It is wrapped in plastic and
travels half way round the World before it gets to us. You can’t touch
it. You can’t smell it. We treat it as if it were some tourist going on
a charter flight to Thailand.”
He bemoans the fact that in Britain, a weekly trip to the superstore is
the norm. “It’s almost like a habit here, like smoking. People
automatically get in their cars and drive to the supermarket and buy
everything there, regardless if it is healthy or where it comes from.”
He would love to see a return to locally produced, good quality food. “I
am all for going back and using more local seasonal products, from local
people,” he says. “We must do as much as we can to support local
producers, because, if we don’t, our health will really suffer.”
For his own part, he and Robyn have certainly become established in the
local Bray community. “I travel a lot, but I love coming back. Bray is a
lovely village and the neighbours are like family here, especially the
ones who have been here, like me, for twenty or thirty years.”
He acknowledges that sometimes his guests can be a little noisy when
leaving his restaurant late at night, but he has his own, charmingly
Gallic way of smoothing things over. “I know who likes cakes and who
likes savouries, so if we have a little problem with noise we just make
it right.”
At Christmas time, too, he throws a big party for all his near
neighbours. “I like to say thank you for coping with us from time to
time. We pour Champagne and eat canapés and the beauty of it is my
guests don’t have to drive home!” he laughs.
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of awarding of The Waterside’s
third Michelin star, but Monsieur Roux is not regarding the retention of
the three stars as a “fair accompli.” He is a perfectionist and
constantly strives to maintain the highest standards of excellence in
everything he does. “I cannot take it for granted that we will retain
the stars,” he says modestly.
 
The fact that one of the greatest-ever master chefs can be so
self-effacing is remarkable in itself; yet such a statement is typical
of the man and one of the reasons why his guests come back to The
Waterside again and again. As wife Robyn puts it: “We’re here to give
guests a good, memorable time, and this mentality is rewarded by loyalty
from a lot of high calibre clients. You need a certain level of maturity
to maintain this standard.” Wannabee “celebrity” chefs should take note.
|