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Raymond Blanc

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Raymond Blanc
Blanc at the 2019 Chelsea Flower Show
Born(1949-11-19)19 November 1949(age 74)
NearBesançon
Children2
Culinary career
Cooking styleFrench
Rating(s)
Current restaurant(s)
Award(s) won
Websiteraymondblanc

Raymond BlancOBE(born 19 November 1949) is a Frenchchef.Blanc is the chef atLe Manoir aux Quat' Saisons,a hotel-restaurant inGreat Milton,Oxfordshire,England. The restaurant has twoMichelin starsand scored 9/10 in theGood Food Guide.He is entirely self-taught,[1]but has himself taught or employed other chefs includingHeston Blumenthal,[2]John Burton-Race,[3]Michael Caines,[4]Paul Liebrandt,[5]andMarco Pierre White.[6]

Early life

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Blanc was born nearBesançon,the capital of theFranche-Comtéregion in eastern France, betweenBurgundyand theJura mountains.He grew up inSaône,a village just east of there.

While his two sisters were taught to cook by the influential Maman Blanc, his father taught Blanc and his two brothers to work in the kitchen garden. His father gave him a colander and foraging map for his 10th birthday, and what he collected his mother taught him to cook.[7]

Career

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Training as a waiter, Blanc worked at theMichelin-starredLe Palais de la Bièrein Besançon. In 1972 he was fired for upsetting the head chef (Blanc had offered him advice on how to cook); however, the manager knew of a job in England.[7]

Not speaking English well enough to survive without a notepad, he was dispatched toThe Rose RevivedinNewbridge, Oxfordshire,arriving three days after landing atDoverin hisRenault 5 Gordini.Blanc married the owner's daughter Jenny, and the couple had two sons.[7]

Before striking out on his own in 1977, Blanc worked for a time under chef patron André Chavagnon, who had opened a French restaurant, La Sorbonne, inOxfordHigh Street in 1966.[citation needed]

In 1977, the Blancs openedLes Quat' Saisonsin a row of modern shops inSummertown, Oxford:"We mortgaged the house, owed 18 further people, and opened in a corridor between alingerieshop andOxfam".An overnight success, he won"Egon Ronay GuideRestaurant of the Year ", two Michelin stars and a host of other distinctions.[7]

In 1981, Blanc opened LaMaison Blanc,a chain of boulangeries and pâtisseries that also contain cafès. There were 14 branches of Maison Blanc across the country, including several in London and one in Oxford. Maison Blanc cakes were also available nationwide inWaitrosesupermarkets.[8]The chain was closed in 2017 by its owners,Kout Food Group.[9]

In 1983, Blanc purchased a manor-house in the Oxfordshire village ofGreat Miltonwhere he openedLe Manoir aux Quat' Saisons,a country house hotel and double Michelin starred restaurant. Awarded five AA stars and with a score of 19/20 from respected French guide Gault Millau, Le Manoir describes itself as "one of the ultimate gastronomic destinations in the country".[10]

Blanc opened Le Petit Blanc, the first of a chain of smaller restaurants, in Oxford in June 1996. Blanc's stated aim with these was to bring the French philosophy of "good food being central to good living" to the United Kingdom. His desire was to create and serve food that can be enjoyed by everyone – "from the time-conscious business person to those looking for a welcoming family restaurant".[citation needed]

Blanc suffered two mini strokes when he was 42, believed to have been brought on by stress and overwork.[11]

In June 2003, after nearly losing the chain to his ex-wife Jenny as part of his divorce settlement,[7]the four Le Petit Blanc Brasseries (now known as Brasserie Blanc) inBirmingham(which closed in 2008),Cheltenham,Manchester and Oxford became part of the Loch Fyne Restaurant Group portfolio. Blanc maintains a share in the business, and continues to be involved creating new menus, developing the chef and kitchen teams and participating in the promotion of the restaurants. Since 1996, Raymond has opened the following branches of Brasserie Blanc:[12]

  • 1996 - Le Petit Blanc brasserie, Oxford. Awarded one Michelin Star in its first year and classed amongst the ten best restaurants in the country, in 2006 it was re-launched as Brasserie Blanc
  • 1998 - Cheltenham
  • 1999 - Birmingham (closed 2008)[13]
  • 2000 - Manchester
  • 2004 - Tunbridge Wells (closed 2009)[14]
  • 2007 - Leeds and Milton Keynes
  • 2008 - Bristol (closed 2019)[15]and Winchester
  • 2009 - Portsmouth
  • 2010 - Chichester and Threadneedle Street, London
  • 2012 - Bath, Berkhamsted, St Albans and Chancery Lane, Charlotte Street, Covent Garden (closed 2016),[16]St Paul's and Tower Hill in London[17]

In 2012 Blanc became the president of theSustainable Restaurant Association.[18]

Also In 2012 Blanc became the Culinary Director forEurostar.[19]

In March 2013, Raymond Blanc made the news with Mayor of LondonBoris Johnson,to publicise a scheme to get young people into the food and hospitality industry. Blanc took on twenty-one apprentices across the Brasserie Blanc Restaurants.[20]

Blanc is one of the patrons of theChildren's Food Festival,which was held on theNorthmoor TrustEstate in south Oxfordshire in June 2009.[21]

In 2014 Blanc andKate HumblepresentedKew on a Plate,a 4-part television series demonstrating the garden growth and preparation of several vegetable dishes.[22]

Chefs trained by Blanc

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Blanc has taught or employed many other future chefs and restaurateurs, including:

TV appearances

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Blanc has made numerous appearances on many major television stations, during prime time viewing, in the UK. These include his own seriesFood & Drinkin 1987,Take Six Cooksin 1986 andMasterchefin 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1998, as well asThe Restaurant,a BBC 2 series hosted by Blanc where nine couples competed to win their own restaurant.

Blanc was a featured chef onGreat Chefstelevision, appearing inGreat Chefs of the World.[24]

On 13 January 2007, he appeared onSaturday Kitchen.In the Omelette Challenge, he finished last because he took the longest to cook an omelette. However, he was nudged up a few places byJames Martin,right aboveKen Hom,as Blanc produced a black truffle out of his pocket and garnished the finished omelette with truffle shavings.

In summer 2007, aBBCpromotion for his new reality TV programmeThe Restaurantwas shown on UK television. (The show is known toBBC Americaviewers in the US asLast Restaurant Standing). The promo showed a group of well-dressed diners in a slow-motion food fight, to aGonzalesbacking track. The show was part of BBC Two's autumn season in 2007 and returned, with minor changes to the format, in 2008. In 2009,The Restaurantreturned to BBC Two in a low-budget format. This season was much criticised for the poor standard of contestants, for neglecting the successful elements of previous series, and for Blanc choosing as the winner a team without any discernible culinary ability outside of making cocktails.

  • 1985 -Take Six Cooks
  • 1987 -Food and Drink- Six-part series on BBC2
  • 1994 -Blanc Mange- Six-part BBC2 series on food and chemistry
  • 2000 -Friends for Dinner- Six-part BBC2 series with high-profile chefs participating in individual episodes
  • 2001 to 2007-BBC Radio 4- Discussing topical industry issues, including organic produce
  • 2001 -Newsnight- Foot and mouth issues - appeared with representatives from the Soil Association and the National Farmers Union
  • 2001 -SKY News- Relevant and topical industry issues
  • 2001 -Housecall- BBC1 daytime programme, hosted by Lowri Turner. Blanc appeared on a few of the shows cooking slots.
  • 2002 -Passion for Perfection- Twelve-part Carlton Television series
  • 2004 -So What Do You Do All Day- Dedicated episode of BBC Two series, which follows a high-profile professional through a typical working day.
  • 2007 -The Restaurantseries 1- Eight-part BBC Two series. Nine couples are put through their paces to see if they have what it takes to run their own restaurant.
  • 2008 -The Restaurantseries 2- Over eight weeks, nine couples compete to win a restaurant personally supported by Blanc.
  • 2009 -The Restaurantseries 3
  • 2010 -Kitchen Secrets- BBC cookery show with a range of achievable and inspirational recipes for cooks of all abilities.
  • 2011 -Kitchen Secrets 2- Second series of cookery show with a range of achievable and inspirational recipes for cooks of all abilities
  • 2011 -Raymond Blanc's Christmas Feast- BBC
  • 2012 -The Very Hungry Frenchman- BBC 2
  • 2013 -Raymond Blanc: How to Cook Well- Series of six half-hour programmes on BBC 2.
  • 2015 -Kew on a Plate
  • 2015 -Food and Drink- Appeared on 6 April 2015.
  • 2021 -Simply Raymond- Series 1; April 2021[25]
  • 2022 -Simply Raymond- Series 2; January - February 2022[26]
  • 2024 -Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens- February - May 2024[27]

Blanc also made a guest appearance on the BBC sitcomMirandain episode 5 of the third series.

Personal life

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Blanc has two sons, Olivier and Sebastien.[28]Blanc lives in Oxford with long-term partner Natalia Traxel.[29]In 2008 he received an honoraryOBE.[30]

During the fourth series ofThe Great British Bake OffBlanc made personal attacks against contestantRuby Tandohin online comments. He derided her for being thin which he claimed indicated she must not truly love baking or cooking. He also criticized her for crying, which he called “female tears” and portrayed her crying as an attempt to manipulate the judges.[31]

Tandoh subsequently defended herself with an article inThe Guardianand reflected on the anger andmisogynyin online commentary about the show and responded to Blanc’s comments directly. Blanc later apologized for his comments, which became controversial. He self-depreciatingly described himself as a “grumpy Frenchman” to explain his behavior.[32][33]

Bibliography

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  • 1988 -Recipes from Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons(MacDonald Orbis)ISBN978-0356120775
  • 1991 - Cooking for Friends (Headline)ISBN0-7472-7892-X
  • 1994 -Mange: The Mysteries of the Kitchen RevealedISBN978-0563370161
  • 1998 -Blanc Vite: Fast Fresh Food from Raymond Blanc(Murdoch Books)ISBN978-0747217084
  • 1999 -A Blanc Christmas(Headline)ISBN978-0747275183
  • 2002 -Foolproof French Cookery(BBC Worldwide)ISBN978-0563534648
  • 2005 -Simple French Cookery(BBC Books)ISBN978-0563522850
  • 2008 -A Taste of My Life(Bantam Press)ISBN978-0593060360(autobiography)
  • 2011 -Kitchen Secrets(Bloomsbury Publishing)ISBN978-1408816875
  • 2012 -My Kitchen Table: 100 Recipes for Entertaining(BBC Books)ISBN978-1849904353
  • 2014 -Kitchen Garden Experts' (Frances Lincoln)ISBN978-0711234963
  • 2015 -Kew on a Plate with Raymond Blanc(Headline)ISBN978-1472224378
  • 2019 - The Lost Orchard (Headline)ISBN9781472267580
  • 2021 -Simply Raymond(Headline)ISBN978-1472267603

References

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  1. ^Hibbert, Christopher (1988).The Encyclopædia of Oxford.London: Macmillan.ISBN0-333-39917-X.
  2. ^Dixon, Rachel (15 August 2008)."Interview: Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck on the Good Food Guide 2009".The Guardian.
  3. ^"John Burton Race recipes - BBC Food".bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^"Losing power: Michael Caines".BBC News.29 September 2005.
  5. ^"Chef Paul Liebrandt of Gilt-New York Rising Star on".Starchefs.Retrieved16 July2018.
  6. ^"Heston Blumenthal Rejects the Claim He Trained Under Marco Pierre White".December 2012.
  7. ^abcde"A man for all seasons".BMI Voyager. 1 March 2011.Retrieved7 September2011.
  8. ^"Home".Maison Blanc.Retrieved6 January2014.
  9. ^"Maison Blanc Has Closed".Henley Herald.10 March 2017.Retrieved9 June2022.
  10. ^[1]Archived21 June 2012 at theWayback Machine
  11. ^John Crace (28 February 2012)."Raymond Blanc: 'People are confused by my accent. Some English diners thought I was from Liverpool' | Life and style".The Guardian.London.Retrieved6 January2014.
  12. ^"Brasserie Blanc".Find a Restaurant.Retrieved7 February2023.
  13. ^Lodge, Alan (15 February 2008)."City Centre Rates force Blanc out of Brum".Bighospitality.co.uk.Retrieved6 January2014.
  14. ^"Losses blamed for closure of top restaurant".This is Kent. 4 April 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2014.Retrieved6 January2014.
  15. ^"Bristol's Brasserie Blanc restaurant to close permanently after 10 years".Bristol Post. 6 August 2019.Retrieved16 April2024.
  16. ^"Sushisamba is coming to the Covent Garden Opera Terrace".hot-dinners. 3 February 2016.Retrieved3 February2016.
  17. ^"Brasserie Blanc Blog » Blog Archive » Raymond Blanc opens Brasserie Blanc Charlotte Street".Brasserieblanc. 30 August 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2014.Retrieved6 January2014.
  18. ^Joe, Melinda (31 May 2013)."Why it matters where our food comes from"– via Japan Times Online.
  19. ^Railway-News (31 October 2012)."Eurostar Appoint Michelin Starred Chef Raymond Blanc as Culinary Director".Railway-News.Retrieved7 February2023.
  20. ^"Raymond Blanc takes on 21 apprentices".The Handbook].7 March 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2014.
  21. ^"Fantastic line-up for Children's Food Festival".Oxford Mail.26 June 2009.Retrieved7 February2023.
  22. ^"Kew on a Plate".Radio Times.Retrieved7 February2023.
  23. ^"The Team".
  24. ^"Great Chefs".[permanent dead link]
  25. ^"Simply Raymond".raymondblanc.7 December 2020.Retrieved21 December2020.
  26. ^"Simply Raymond Blanc".itv /presscentre.Retrieved21 January2022.
  27. ^"Raymond Blanc's Royal Kitchen Gardens".teleboy.ch.Retrieved15 May2024.
  28. ^"Media Tweets by Raymond Blanc (@raymond_blanc) | Twitter".twitter.Retrieved22 June2018.
  29. ^Clarke, Anna (4 July 2020)."Raymond Blanc on how he spends his Saturday making cooking videos and tending to his garden".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved27 February2021.
  30. ^"Raymond Blanc awarded honorary OBE".Oxford Mail.28 October 2008.Retrieved24 June2021.
  31. ^O'Brien, Liam (21 October 2013)."Raymond Blanc rows with Great British Bake Off's Ruby Tandoh on Twitter".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2022.
  32. ^Tandoh, Ruby (22 October 2013)."The Great British Bake Off: why did our show attract so much vitriol?".The Guardian.
  33. ^Ditum, Sarah (21 October 2013)."The Great British Bake-Off: Ruby Tandoh doesn't deserve this hostility".The Guardian.
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