Double Michelin Star chef Michel Roux Jr calls for an end to the term ‘fine dining’ because it suggests a ‘soulless’ experienceMichel Roux Jr spoke out against the ‘pomp and seriousness’ of luxury dining
HIS double Michelin star restaurant is considered the epitome of haute cuisine.
But Michel Roux Jr has called for an end to the term ‘fine dining’ because he believes it suggests a ‘soulless’ experience.
The TV chef, who was an expert judge on Masterchef and made an appearance on his friend Gordon Ramsay’s show Hell’s Kitchen, has spoken out against the ‘pomp and seriousness’ of luxury dining.
Roux Jr, 63, owns the exclusive French restaurant Le Gavroche in Mayfair, where one dish can cost up to £90 and a set menu can set you back more than £400.
The father-of-one said: ‘I’m not too enamoured with the fine-dining moniker, to be honest. It conjures up images of soulless dining rooms where everybody speaks in hushed voices and you’re supposed to look at food with reverence.’
Michel Roux Jr (pictured) has called for an end to the term ‘fine dining’ because he believes it suggests a ‘soulless’ experience
The TV chef, who was an expert judge on Masterchef, has spoken out against the ‘pomp and seriousness’ of luxury dining
The interior of La Gavroche has been described as having ‘a few family portraits and prints but no great design theme’ and ‘the antithesis of chic modernity’.
Roux Jr added: ‘Fine-dining places are not a pleasure to eat at, so it’s definitely moved on and it’s more democratised.
‘You can enjoy luxury, five-star dining without all the pomp and seriousness.’
La Gavroche is one of London’s most famous fine-dining restaurants, with the seventh most expensive tasting menu in the city. The ‘Menu Exceptionnel’ costs £190 per person and features souffles, terrines and tartares that accompany dishes such as roasted squab pigeon. Le Gavroche was opened in 1967 by Roux Jr’s father, Albert, and uncle, Michel, and has been the launching pad for the careers of the likes of Ramsay and Marco Pierre White.
Talking to Radio Times about his upcoming TV show Five Star Chef – a luxury cooking competition set in London’s Langham Hotel – Roux Jr revealed the wealth behind ‘fine dining’.
He said: ‘We get punters from all over the world who don’t bat an eyelid at booking a room for £25,000 a night. If they want a kilo of caviar delivered at midnight on the dot, with a double magnum of Cristal, we make it happen.’
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