I grew up in a tiny pink cottage with a little garden at the bottom of a hill in a village called Shipbourne in Kent. Dad [the chef Albert Roux] used to grow vegetables and rear animals for the table. I’d be playing around with a rabbit on a Monday; on Saturday it would be roast rabbit for lunch. At an early age, I understood where my food came from.
Did your childhood feel like a slice of France in rural Kent?
I was born in England in 1960 and brought up as a French child living in England. My parents had arrived in the country the year before. I only learnt English at primary school. We used to go fishing, but unlike the local anglers who would put their fish back in the water, we would take them home. We were always gathering snails and eating them. The locals would look at us, shake their heads and say, “Oh, look at those bloody foreigners.”
The village in Kent where Roux grew upAlamy
Where’s home for you now?
I consider myself a Londoner; Clapham is my stomping ground. I’ve been living in south London since I was eight years old, in Tooting first of all, then Clapham. I remember when you’d stop a taxi in the West End and say, “I’m going to Clapham,” and they’d reply, “Sorry, mate, I’m not going there.”
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How do your kitchens in Clapham and Provence differ?
In my London flat [bought in 1989] the kitchen is by Mark Wilkinson. It’s tiny, but very well kitted out. I have a Miele induction hob, as induction is clean, efficient and easy to look after. At my house in France, the kitchen is the heart and soul of the building, with a huge dining room table where you can fit 12 people. In the summer months I cook outside most days on a barbecue or in a pizza oven. I’ve got a gas hob and an Aga, which is pretty unusual in France. The Aga warms up the kitchen beautifully, especially during Christmas or New Year, when it’s cold and damp. I want to spend a bit more time in France now that the restaurant [Le Gavroche, opened by his father and his uncle, Michel, in 1967] is closed.
Roux in his south London kitchenShutterstock Editorial
What has life been like since you closed Le Gavroche?
I’m spending more time with the grandchildren. We run a brasserie at Cheltenham Festival, a beautiful restaurant at Epsom [Downs Racecourse] that has a view right on the finish line, and a big Le Gavroche restaurant during Wimbledon. I also work with Cunard [the cruise company] — I’ll be on board the Queen Anne four times this year. I certainly don’t miss going into work [at the weekend]. I’ve come to appreciate the comfort of my sofa on a Saturday night. It’s something that I haven’t done for most of my life, so to be able to do it now is a real luxury.
Who rules the kitchen during big family events?
When it’s Christmas in the Roux household, we each take a course so we don’t step on each other’s toes. I’ll take one course, Diego [Ferrari, his son-in-law and a chef] one course and Emily [his daughter, also a chef] another.
Roux in 1991 in Le Gavroche, which was opened by his father and uncle in 1967Evening Standard/Shutterstock
What are your most used food gadgets?
An electric juicer. My wife, Giselle, has a fresh lemon juice every morning. We press oranges and grapefruit for fresh juice; the grandkids love it. I’ve also got a huge collection of Japanese Global Knives, which I lovingly look after.
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Have you succumbed to the cult of the air fryer?
No. I have seen them in use and I can fully understand why they’re doing so well. But they’re not fryers — just very powerful, efficient mini-ovens.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Why should you feel guilt if whatever it is that you are eating is giving you pleasure? I eat chocolate every day. It’s like a ritual. But I cannot abide cheap confectionery. Alain Ducasse chocolate is mind-blowingly good, especially his pralines, and William Curley does the most amazing salted caramel chocolates.
“Alain Ducasse chocolate is mind-blowingly good”
What’s in your dinner rotation?
French classic, but not rich; we love game and offal. A couple of nights ago we had pan-fried veal brain, which we bought at M Moen & Sons, a great family-run butcher in Clapham. We don’t tend to do anything too fancy at home, just good ingredients, well-cooked. It could be a pan-fried piece of fish with some steamed vegetables, or a veal tongue, which might not be to everybody’s liking but you get so many meals out of one tongue.
Are you a big dinner party host?
I don’t do dinner parties [in London] and, strangely enough, I never get invited to dinner parties. I normally invite people to a restaurant, usually my daughter’s place, Caractère [a French-Italian restaurant in Notting Hill run with Ferrari, which earned its first Michelin star last year]. I’m very proud. In France, yes — we’ve got a much bigger house and we’re in complete relaxed mode, so it’s different.
Do you feel more English or French?
It depends who’s winning in the rugby. I’ve got French blood running through my veins, but I was raised in England. If I’m watching, I will cheer on both teams.
Dining and Cooking