Âgé de 63 ans, le chef a déclaré qu’il recherchait un meilleur équilibre entre sa vie professionnelle et sa vie privée, sans la pression liée à la gestion d’un restaurant deux étoiles Michelin.
Ainsi, même si « Le Gavroche » a toujours affiché complet, l’arrivée prochaine du terme de son bail a donné l’occasion au chef de repenser son avenir.
Ouvert à l’origine sur Lower Sloane Street à Chelsea en 1967 par son père, Albert, et son oncle, Michel, « Le Gavroche » a figuré dans le premier Guide Michelin pour la Grande-Bretagne et l’Irlande en 1974. Il s’est installé sur son site actuel, Upper Brook Street, Mayfair, en 1981 et a été le premier restaurant britannique à obtenir trois étoiles Michelin en 1982. Le restaurant est devenu une institution londonienne et a vu défiler dans ses cuisines des chefs réputés tels que Monica Galetti, Gordon Ramsay, Pierre Koffmann et Marco Pierre White. Roux a repris la direction du restaurant en 1991.
Sur le site web du « Le Gavroche », Michel Roux Jr a déclaré : « Je sais que ce sera un choc pour beaucoup d’entre vous, alors sachez que cette décision n’a pas été prise à la légère. « Le Gavroche » représente beaucoup, non seulement pour moi et la famille Roux, mais aussi pour toute l’équipe du The Gavroche et pour vous, nos clients, qui êtes devenus notre famille depuis tant d’années. J’ai toujours pensé que si « Le Gavroche » devait un jour fermer ses portes, ce serait pour le meilleur. « Le Gavroche » a été et continue d’être complet, semaine après semaine, mais je sais depuis un certain temps que je dois prendre le temps de mieux équilibrer ma vie professionnelle et ma vie privée, afin de pouvoir consacrer plus de temps à ma famille et à mes autres projets d’entreprise ».
Les autres projets que le Chef évoque sont nombreux : il va pouvoir développer la société de restauration « Chez Roux », superviser les opérations restauration au Langham, à Londres, collaborer plus étroitement avec le groupe hôtelier ICMI (Inverlochy Castle Management International) qui exploite les restaurants Roux en Écosse et renforcer son rôle de consultant auprès de Compass Group lors d’événements sportifs majeurs.
Sa fille, Emily Roux, et son gendre, Diego Ferrari, continueront d’exploiter leur restaurant Caractère, situé à Notting Hill.
Le Gavroche organisera une série de dîners publics en l’honneur du restaurant, de novembre jusqu’à sa fermeture en janvier, avec la participation de membres de la famille et de visages familiers ayant travaillé dans le restaurant.
London, 18/08/2023
To our loyal and dedicated Le Gavroche guests, friends, and family,
It is with very mixed emotions that I am today announcing the upcoming closure of Le Gavroche restaurant site at 43 Upper Brook Street. After 56 years, we will close the restaurant doors in January 2024, although ‘Le Gavroche’ name will continue to be a familiar presence in pop-ups and in other Roux ventures.
I know this will come as a shock to many of you, so please know this decision has not been made lightly. Le Gavroche means so much, not just to myself and the Roux family, but to the wider Gavroche team and you, our guests, who have become our family over so many years.
I have always felt that should Le Gavroche ever close, it must be on a high. Le Gavroche has, and continues to be, fully booked, week in, week out, but I have known for a while that I must make time for a better work/life balance, so I can spend more time with my family and on my other business ventures. The end of the current lease gave me the opportunity to assess and consider the future, and I feel that now is the time to turn the page and move forward.
We will be hosting a series of dinners celebrating the menus over the decades since the restaurant opened, which will start this November and go through until the restaurant’s closure in January next year. Family members and familiar faces who have worked at Le Gavroche in the past will be making appearances at these events, and all details will be announced in the newsletter, which you can subscribe to on Le Gavroche homepage, so keep your eyes peeled as we send out information over the coming months.
It has been an incredible 56 years for the restaurant, founded in 1967 by my late father Albert Roux OBE and uncle, Michel Roux Sr OBE, and it has been one of my greatest honours to helm the restaurant since 1991. Le Gavroche has changed the face of the UK and London restaurant scene and its legacy is unmatched. For over five decades, Le Gavroche has resolutely remained an iconic figure as the world changed around it, and has been home to many of the UK and world’s best chefs.
This is not the end of Le Gavroche – the restaurant may be closing, but the name will live on, as will the Roux dynasty. There will be Le Gavroche pop-ups and events in the future, both at home and abroad. I will continue operating Chez Roux, to offer Roux catering at home or in your chosen venue alongside cookery classes and culinary consultancy from a hand-picked team led by myself and my daughter, Emily Roux. I will also continue to head up the F&B offering at The Langham, London; working with ICMI Hotel Group with the Roux restaurants in Scotland; and consulting for Compass Group at major sporting events including the Wimbledon Championships. You will occasionally find me at Emily and her husband Diego Ferrari’s restaurant, Caractère, cooking at special events, and I will also be writing more books and popping up on your TV screens.
I could not be more grateful for the Le Gavroche team, the caretakers of the restaurant. Le Gavroche has always been a family restaurant, and for decades, they have loved and respected the restaurant as if it were their own. Rachel, The Sisters, Rémi, and the entire team both past and present, will forever have my gratitude, and will always be considered as part of the Roux family.
And to you, our guests. We have been incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful guests, many of whom have been visiting us for decades. Our success is all down to you. We are, and have always been, so grateful to you all, and I would like to extend a personal thank you to every single person that has dined with us over the years. Your support means everything to us.
Having played host to countless birthdays, proposals, weddings, and anniversaries, we created this dedication page on the Le Gavroche website for anyone who would like to upload their own words and photos of significant meals and celebrations at the restaurant which will be read and shared by myself and my team.
I look forward to reading and sharing in your fond memories, and I especially look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible over the next few months. Let’s go out with a bang.
With the greatest thanks,
Chef Patron Michel Roux (source Website « Le Gavroche »)
