Chef and Le Gavroche restaurateur Albert Roux dies aged 85

Member of Roux culinary dynasty died on Monday after a long illness, his family has said

The chef and restaurateur Albert Roux has died at the age of 85.

The founder of the Michelin-starred Le Gavroche and member of the Roux culinary dynasty died on Monday after a long illness.

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Sushi, pasta and Paxo stuffing: what Britain’s top chefs eat at Christmas

From watermelon to tiramisu and Caribbean pepperpot, here are the festive home menus from Rick Stein, Angela Hartnett and many others

Rick Stein, chef and founder of Rick Stein restaurants, nationwide
I love it at Christmas, when there are festive lights all around the harbour and the pubs are at their cosiest. This year, I’m spending it at my cottage in Padstow. I’ll be cooking goose with sage and onion stuffing, potatoes roasted in goose fat with artichokes and parsnips and a melange of vegetables – broccoli, peas, broad beans and carrots – all cut small and braised in butter and tarragon. It’s not traditional but I can’t have Christmas at my place without two or three dozen native oysters from the river Fal to start, and Cornish blue cheese instead of stilton with the port.

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‘All I want is chocolate’: Jamie Oliver and other top chefs on their Christmas wish lists

Tinned fish, ceramic tableware and cornettos – Santa’s sack is full of unusual treats for our chefs and food writers

Bread, cheese… and gin
Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef and author

A couple of loaves of Coombeshead Farm bread. The crust is exceptional, it’s nutty, chewy and malty. Toast it up with some good butter, it heats like a dream and will last for a week. Have it with some good cheese and a glass of wine or beer, it’s just heaven and a meal in itself.

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Michel Roux Sr, chef who reshaped British cooking, dies aged 78

Tributes paid to ‘humble genius’ whose restaurant was first in UK to win three Michelin stars

Michel Roux Sr, the French chef and restaurateur whose work profoundly reshaped British cooking, has died aged 78.

His family, who were at his side when he passed away at home in Bray, Berkshire, on Wednesday evening, described him as a “humble genius” who had an “insatiable appetite” for life. He died from a longstanding lung condition, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

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Forget celebrity chefs – we need celebrity waiters

The waiting staff in a restaurant can make or break a meal just as much as the people in the kitchen. Yet they are rarely celebrated – and quite often traduced

Name a successful chef. That wasn’t hard, was it? Now name a successful maitre d’, or waiter, or anyone else who works front of house in a restaurant and isn’t Fred Sirieix of First Dates.

If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. For all our celebrity chefs and food fetishisation, most Brits still consider any restaurant job that involves dealing with customers as at best stop-gap, and at worst a last resort.

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French chef Alain Ducasse declares war on dry January

Star chef says he is ‘obsessed with selling wine’ and wants to diners to drink more, not less

French chef Alain Ducasse, an outspoken opponent of Dry January, has launched an initiative to entice patrons of his restaurants to drink more during the first month of the year, not less.

“I like swimming against the tide,” he told AFP on Tuesday, announcing plans to proffer top bottles of Burgundy and Bordeaux at knockdown prices to encourage diners to order wine by the bottle rather than by the glass.

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Cheddargate chef loses court battle over Michelin downgrade

Business still booming at Marc Veyrat’s restaurant despite it losing one of its three stars

One of France’s leading chefs has lost his court case against the Michelin Guide after it downgraded his restaurant from three to two stars.

In a case that became known as Cheddargate, Marc Veyrat sued the respected guide claiming it had made a “profoundly offensive” suggestion that he had used the English cheese in one of his signature soufflé dishes.

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Pot and pans? Italian TV chef on cannabis charge was ‘researching new flavours’

Police find cannabis-flavoured wine, olives, coffee and tuna at home of Sicilian celebrity chef Carmelo Chiaramonte

A well-known Sicilian chef arrested with drugs at his home justified their presence by saying he was looking for “new flavours” for contemporary cuisine, Italian media have reported.

Officers say they found a pair of two-metre tall marijuana plants and 500 grams of Indian hemp at chef Carmelo Chiaramonte’s home in Trecastagni, a village at the foot of Mount Etna.

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After Spade and Bourdain, Schumer Wants to Increase Funding for Suicide Prevention

It was hard not to sit back and really examine the prevalence of suicide last week after two celebrities, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, both took their own lives. Sen. Chuck Schumer must have been thinking about it as well, and along with a report on the state of suicides across the country, he wants to increase funding for suicide prevention.

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Bourdain, 61, was found dead on Friday in France, where he'd been working on an episode of his show Parts Unknown which explores culinary traditions around the world. John Bazemore/AP hide caption Bourdain, 61, was found dead on Friday in France, where he'd been working on an episode of his show Parts Unknown which explores culinary traditions around the world.

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