If there is a single catalyst for British cuisine then it has to be Albert Roux. Although French, Roux has been at the heart of great British food since the 1960s; he has been at the heart of British society for even longer. As well as his own remarkable achievements, Roux has trained some of the biggest names in world cooking. A true chef’s chef, his accolades include The Most Influential Chef In The Country, as voted for by his peers.

Roux’s fledgling culinary career found its feet in the early 1950s when, as an eighteen-year-old, he moved from France to England to work for Nancy Astor, a wealthy viscountess and the first female MP in Britain to take her seat. He then worked in a succession of chef jobs for both the French Embassy in London and British Embassy in Paris, as well as a private chef for the wealthy. In 1967, along with his brother, Michel, he opened La Gavrote in London. As befitting the prestige of his previous jobs, La Gavrote soon became a favourite of high society, including the Queen Mother. It also had the distinction of becoming the UK’s first three Michelin Star restaurant.

During the mid-1980s, Roux set up a scholarship scheme to help give back to the industry that had made him famous. He also trained household names such as Gordon Ramsay and Pierre Marco-White, both of whom have always expressed their love and gratitude for and to him. Today, with multiple honorary doctorates from universities across the UK, he continues to inspire as a Professor at the University of Bournemouth, and as a guest lecturer at colleges across the UK and France.