Alexis Gauthier

Alexis Pascal Gauthier (born 24 June 1973) is a French chef. He is the chef patron of the Gauthier Soho restaurant in Soho, London and was awarded a Michelin star in 2011. He previously held a Michelin star as head chef of the restaurant Roussillon in Pimlico, London, until 2010. He trained under Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco, and has appeared as a judge on two versions of the BBC One television show MasterChef. He became a vegan in 2016 and changed Gauthier Soho to a vegan menu in 2021 and opened 123 Vegan, a vegan cafeteria.

Career In 1991 he started working in a restaurant for the first time, at the Hotel Negresco in Nice, France. He moved to work under Alain Ducasse at his Le Louis XV restaurant in Monaco between 1993 and 1996. In 2000, it was awarded a Michelin star. It was also awarded three AA Rosettes, and won the Time Out "Best Vegetarian Award" in both 2000 and 2001. Gauthier left Roussillon in 2010 to set up a new restaurant called Gauthier Soho; Because of this, Roussillon lost its Michelin star and went on to go through two chefs before finally closing on 1 June 2012. After it closed, Gauthier stated to the industry press that he hoped to be able to buy back the location. A year after its opening, the new restaurant was also awarded a Michelin star.

Gauthier doesn't believe in timers or pre-weighing food to determine cooking time. Instead, as demonstrated in his television appearances, he relies on touching food to determine whether or not it is cooked. Although he will create a vegetarian menu on request, his vegetable tasting menu at Gauthier Soho can include meat products such as a meat au jus in the preparation of the vegetables. Gauthier became a vegan in 2016; he is now opposed to the "savagery" of meat, and "excited about a vegan future". He is transitioning his restaurants to be fully plant-based.

Television work He appeared with Gregg Wallace and Michel Roux Jr. as a judge on BBC One's MasterChef: The Professionals in October 2009. He later also appeared on the regular MasterChef series, once more alongside Wallace, and also with John Torode in March 2011 and March 2019.

Personal life Gauthier was diagnosed in October 2010 with a fatty liver, which resulted in him cutting down his calorie intake and listing calorie counts on his menu at Gauthier Soho.