RAYMOND BLANC If you ask a food lover to name one of the most inspiring chefs of our time there is only one name that consistently appears, that of Raymond Blanc OBE. A humble man who has made his mark on haute cuisine like no other in the UK, a trail-blazer in gastronomy he is also an inspiration to many other talented chefs around the world.
Raymond Blanc runs through the day’s menus
When asked to tell me a little about his lifelong love affair with food and how it all began, Raymond Blanc recalls a colorful childhood filled with rich and unforgettable experiences in the kitchen. “I sometimes think I grew up in my mother’s kitchen. It was a wonderful place to be, full of aromas, colours, textures, things that seemed wonderfully alive and it was impossible to resist touching and tasting the ingredients. I used to love to watch Maman Blanc create wonderful dishes, she is my greatest inspiration. In the summer, Maman Blanc would make a simple but delicious tomato salad, this dish I remember vividly because she used not any type of tomato but the Marmande variety – you know the ones, they are really fat, juicy and meaty. They came from our garden we made sure we picked them before they fell. They were sometimes ugly things, full of bumps and lumps but just right for the salad. My most vivid memory of
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her tomato salad was soaking up the juice with a large hunk of bread, the juice was the most exquisite thing made of tomatoes (of course), Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and sea salt. That first taste began a lifetime journey to find a way to create the perfect tomato essence.” Born in Besancon, France, Blanc arrived on British shores in 1972 where he began to carve his career. From these humble beginnings as a waiter he has made a name for himself as world of the world’s most talented chefs and amazingly his journey started out with a simple yet happy misfortune. His career in the kitchen initially began at the Rose Revived - a restaurant in Newbridge, and when the chef was taken suddenly ill Blanc stepped in to take up the challenge. His culinary journey culminated in the opening of his own restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton Oxford in 1984. Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons is the only country house hotel in the UK to have achieved and retained two
Michelin stars and this year, celebrates quarter of a century. Working hard and dedicating his life to a love of food and sharing the enjoyment it brings Raymond Blanc has proved a role model to many talented chefs, but he too has been positively influenced throughout his career. “There are so many chefs whom I admire, both from the past and the present that it’s impossible to list them. I am always learning from everyone I meet and in the same breath, I have also influenced a lot of people’s thinking. I love what Michael Caines, Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal do. I was particularly influenced in the early days by Paul Bocuse, a legend in the restaurant world, a three star Michelin chef with a restaurant in Lyon on the bank of the River Saône. His name still makes me think of nouvelle cuisine. He created the era of the chef patron and the chef proprietor – the chef who owns or has a stake in the business. That was a huge learning curve for me, along with the fact that he exported French Gastronomy all over the world.”