Two-Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr calls for an end to the term “fine dining” because it suggests a “soulless” experience.
- Michel Roux Jr spoke out against the “pomp and seriousness” of luxury dinners
ITS two Michelin star restaurant is considered the epitome of haute cuisine.
But Michel Roux Jr. has called for the term “fine dining” to be ended because he believes it suggests a “soulless” experience.
The TV chef, who was an expert judge on Masterchef and made an appearance on his friend Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, has spoken out against the “pomp and gravitas” of fancy dining.
Roux Jr, 63, owns the upscale French restaurant Le Gavroche in Mayfair, where a course can cost up to £90 and a set menu can set you back over £400.
The father-of-one said: ‘To be honest, I’m not too enamored with the fine dining moniker. He conjures up images of soulless diners where everyone is talking quietly and you’re supposed to look at your food reverently.
Michel Roux Jr (pictured) has called for the term “fine dining” to be ended as he believes it suggests a “soulless” experience.
The television chef, who was an expert judge on Masterchef, has spoken out against the “pomp and seriousness” of luxury dinners
The interior of La Gavroche has been described as having “a few family portraits and prints, but no grand design theme” and “the antithesis of elegant modernity”.
Roux Jr added: “Fine-dining places are not a joy to eat, so it’s definitely moved on and is more democratized.”
“You can have five-star luxury dining without all the pomp and gravitas.”
La Gavroche is one of London’s most famous fine dining restaurants, with the seventh most expensive tasting menu in the city. The ‘Exceptionnel Menu’ costs £190 per person and includes soufflés, terrines and tartares that accompany dishes such as roast pigeon. Le Gavroche was opened in 1967 by Roux Jr’s father, Albert, and his uncle Michel, and has been the launching pad for the careers of the likes of Ramsay and Marco Pierre White.
Speaking to Radio Times about his upcoming Five Star Chef TV show, a luxury cooking competition set at London’s Langham Hotel, Roux Jr revealed the wealth behind ‘good food’.
He said: ‘We get clients from all over the world who don’t hesitate to book a room for £25,000 a night. If you want a kilo of caviar delivered at midnight on the dot, with a double magnum of Cristal, we make it happen.
