Gordon Ramsay shares emotional tribute to mentor and ‘legend’ Albert Roux
Gordon Ramsay has paid tribute to legendary restaurateur Albert Roux, who opened Britain’s first Michelin-starred restaurant and transformed the country’s fine dining scene. Roux died on Monday at the age of 85. His family said the iconic chef had been “ill for some time,” according to a statement obtained by The Evening Standard. Michel Roux Jr. paid tribute to his father in the statement, calling him “a mentor to so many in the hospitality industry and a true inspiration to budding chefs, including myself.” Ramsay is one of dozens of British celebrity chefs who got their start at Roux’s legendary restaurant Le Gavroche, and the “MasterChef” star paid tribute to him in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “So sad to hear of the passing of this legend who brought British cuisine to life,” Ramsay wrote in the caption. “We’ve worked in the same office for the last decade and climbing those stairs today will be really hard, thank you Albert for everything you’ve given me, God bless you chef.” In a second Instagram post, Ramsay said Roux was “hard-nosed, fair-minded, passionate and incredibly
knowledgeable about what you can achieve if you listen.” Roux moved to England from his native France when he was 18, giving up his dream of becoming a priest to hone his culinary skills in the kitchens of politicians, athletes and the French Embassy, according to the Evening Standard. In 1967, Roux and his brother Michel — who also worked as a private chef — teamed up to open Le Gavroche in London. Seven years later, Le Gavroche became the first restaurant in the UK to win a Michelin star, The New York Times reported. In 1982, it became the first restaurant in the country to win three Michelin stars.
The brothers also opened The Waterside Inn in Berkshire, England, which received three Michelin stars in 1985. The Michelin Guide also paid special tribute to Roux in a tweet on Wednesday, calling him “the father of the British restaurant industry.” Roux’s restaurants became training grounds for top British chefs, including Ramsay, as well as Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti. According to The Guardian, more than half of Britain’s Michelin-starred restaurants in 2013 were run by chefs who had been trained by Roux.
Mentoring chefs was important to Roux and Michel, who died last year at the age of 78. In 1984, the brothers set up a scholarship fund to help nurture British culinary talent. The brothers also helped bring cooking to television with their series At Home with the Roux Brothers in the 1980s. Tributes poured in from other celebrity chefs on Wednesday as news of his death broke. Roux is survived by his son, Michel Roux Jr., who now runs Le Gavroche, and daughter, Danielle.
