Roux is recounting, fondly, his childhood in rural Kent, which has informed his upcoming new opening, Chez Roux at the Langham, his first since Le Gavroche closed early this year. He grew up on the Fairlawne estate near Tonbridge, a country pile dating back to 1630, where Roux’s father, the late, great Albert, was private chef to the aristocratic Cazalet family from 1959 until 1967. It had a touch of Downton Abbey — “it was a bit like that sometimes”, Roux confirms — but was a happy childhood in which he was afforded licence to roam. When he wasn’t hanging out with the rabbits (pets until eaten) or touring the expansive grounds, he and Albert would go ferreting, foraging, and catch crayfish in the crystalline rivers.
Michel Roux Jr: ‘I have no more dreams of Michelin stars now’
