Raymond Blanc - Biography
By Ronita Dutta
Raymond Blanc was born in Besancon, in the Franche Comte region of eastern France on November 19th, 1949. The self-tutored chef extraordinaire claims his passion for food owes a lot to the simple seasonal dishes made from local produce that his mother raised him on. But Blanc wasn’t always a dab hand in the kitchen. Age 17 he caused chaos in the family kitchen by trying to prepare crêpes suzette on a glass dish. Luckily, the shattering result - sticky caramel covered broken glass – didn’t knock his confidence for long.
Undeterred, aged 21 he took a job as a dishwasher in a local restaurant to discover more about food and its preparation. He was promoted to waiter, but got on the wrong side of his boss and ended up in hospital after having a copper pan thrown at him for telling the head chef what he thought of his cooking. The injury turned out to be Blanc’s lucky break. Whilst recovering in hospital he heard about a job at the Rose Revived in Newbridge in England and packed his bags straightaway.
After just as year at the Rose Revived, Blanc was promoted to head chef - quite a coup considering his lack of formal training. In the years that followed, he honed his unique culinary style and worked hard to save for his own restaurant.
In 1977 at 28 years of age, Blanc’s studious dedication to his craft paid off and he was able to open his first restaurant, Les Quat' Saisons in Oxford with the help of his wife, Jenny. The restaurant was a runaway success winning him numerous accolades, chief among them, Egon Ronay Restaurant of the Year.
Maison Blanc, the couple’s authentic French bakery and patisserie in Oxford opened a few years later in 1981 and has since become supplier to top London eateries and delicatessens including Harrods.
1984 saw Blanc open his combined hotel and restaurant venture Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, which is now the only country house hotel in the UK to have achieved two Michelin Stars for over 16 years.
In 1991, keen to pass on his extensive culinary knowledge, Blanc established L' Ecole de Cuisine at Le Manoir, a cookery school for both amateurs and professionals to develop their skills and learn some of Blanc’s signature techniques and trade secrets.
Blanc continues to be a key advisor on food issues to supermarkets and airlines, as well as raising public awareness of food related issues on radio and TV. He has also written several bestselling cookery books. In 2005 he was voted the AA's Chefs Chef of the Year and in 2007 he was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of his services to the British food industry.
In his TV series, The Restaurant, Blanc reveals his extensive knowledge of the dining industry as couples compete to win the chance to run a restaurant with his backing.