Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is one of the UK’s best-loved and most-recognisable restaurants – the lavender-fringed path leading to the buttery stone manor house, the sprawling kitchen gardens, the specially commissioned sculptures dotted about the grounds. Until recently, guests at the restaurant were as likely to spot Raymond Blanc OBE, the iconic French chef who founded this two-Michelin-starred pioneering restaurant in 1982, pottering about the lawns.
Arnaud Donckele at Le Manoir
But in 2025, Blanc announced that as the hotel and restaurant would close its doors for more than a year for renovations, he, too, would be stepping back from his role at Le Manoir, which has held two Michelin stars for a staggering four decades. Now we know who will be his successor when the hotel reopens in 2027 – the kitchen will be entering a new era under the stewardship of Arnaud Donckele.
Who is Arnaud Donckele, the new culinary director at Le Manoir?
Donckele – also a French chef – has led the charge at three-Michelin-star La Vague d’Or at Cheval Blanc St-Tropez and “Plénitude” at Cheval Blanc Paris. In 2027, he will become the culinary director at Le Manoir.
He says of the move, “To bring my cuisine to the UK for the first time, at a place as magical and meaningful as Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, is a profound honour. I have long admired Raymond Blanc’s ethos of respect for nature and commitment to sustainability. Entrusted by Belmond, I am thrilled to craft the next chapter of Le Manoir’s illustrious story, all while meticulously preserving its cherished spirit.”
Donckele and Blanc at Le Manoir
What can people expect from Arnaud Donckele’s cooking?
As the mastermind behind two three-Michelin-starred French restaurants, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Donckele’s style of cooking is refined – a modern take on classical French techniques which puts storytelling through food front and centre. We don’t know exactly how that will translate on the plate yet, but we’re sure to be one of the first to find out.
Dining and Cooking