Michel Roux, Jr.

Early life Roux was born at Pembury maternity hospital in Kent, while his father Albert Roux was working for the horse race trainer Major Peter Cazalet.

Apprenticeship and training After leaving school at age 16, Roux undertook apprenticeship work with Master Patissier Henri Hellegouarch in Paris.

After undertaking basic training with the French Army, from February 1982 to March 1983 he served his military service at the Élysée Palace, working for both Presidents Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand. Having finished his military service, Roux then worked for four months in Paris: two months at Charcuterie Gérard Mothu in St-Mandé; and then two months at Boucherie Lamartine on the Avenue Victor-Hugo. The restaurant's last day of business was on 13 January 2024.

Media Roux has made various television appearances, including on his friend Gordon Ramsay's ITV produced Hell's Kitchen, and as an expert judge on the BBC Two programme MasterChef: The Professionals (2008–13). In 2012 he appeared as a guest judge on Masterchef South Africa. From 2013 until 2014, Roux co-presented BBC Two's Food and Drink alongside Kate Goodman. In 2013, he appeared as one of the mentors in the series The Chef's Protege.

In March 2014, Roux announced that he was leaving the BBC due to a conflict over his brand ambassadorship for Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes. In 2015, Roux returned to television and presented First Class Chefs for the Disney Channel and Kitchen Impossible with Michel Roux Jr for Channel 4.

In April 2016 Roux stepped in as presenter on BBC's Saturday Kitchen after the departure of James Martin who left after 10 years. Roux ruled himself out of becoming a full-time host.

From September 2021 to December 2022, Roux presented two series of Michel Roux's French Country Cooking; shown on Food Network.

Roux was a judge on Five Star Kitchen: Britain's Next Great Chef; a culinary competition series that aired during June-July 2023 on Channel 4.

Controversies

In November 2016, the Guardian reported that whilst Roux's restaurant made over £250,000 in profit in 2015, he was paying some of his chefs less than the minimum wage. A chef showed the Guardian journalist Robert Booth evidence that chefs typically worked over 65 hours per week, only earning about £5.50 per hour. Work days began at 7am ending at 11.30pm, with only one hour break between lunch and dinner times, and sometimes as little as fifteen minutes for meal times.

Booth's Guardian article noted that in response to the exposé, "Roux said ... he was 'embarrassed and sorry' after the Guardian revealed he was paying chefs as little as £5.50 per hour when they were working 68 hours per week."

In December 2016, it was reported that Roux was keeping servers' tips and service charge. In light of this, he vowed to "scrap tips and service charge", instead including them in the cost of a meal.

Personal life Roux is married to Giselle, who worked in the restaurant business for many years and was the secretary at Le Gavroche. The couple have a daughter, Emily, who is also a chef. The Roux family lives in London.

Roux is a rugby fan and an honorary member of Harlequins and attends most matches. He also likes Manchester United and Wigan Warriors, and is a keen marathon runner, having run the London Marathon thirteen times to raise funds for the children's charity Visually Impaired Children Taking Action.

Publications Le Gavroche Cookbook (2001), London: W&N (Orion), The Marathon Chef: Food for Getting Fit (2003), London: W&N (Orion), Le Gavroche Cookbook: Ten Recipes from One of the World's Great Restaurants (2005), London: Phoenix, Matching Food And Wine: Classic And Not So Classic Combinations (2005), London: W&N (Orion), Michel Roux: A Life in the Kitchen (2009), London: W&N (Orion), Cooking with The Master Chef: Food For Your Family & Friends (2010), London: W&N (Orion), The French Kitchen: 200 Recipes From the Master of French Cooking (2013), London: W&N (Orion), Le Gavroche Cookbook (2017), London: W&N (Orion), Les Abats (2017), London: W&N (Orion), The French Revolution: 140 Classic Recipes made Fresh & Simple (2018), (Seven Dials), Michel Roux at Home (2023), London: W&N (Orion),