Raymond Blanc OBE has been presented with the insignia of Chevalier in the Ordre national de Légion d’Honneur in the ministerial Order du Mérite Agricole, for services to agriculture, the highest French decoration, by Bernard Emié, French Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Raymond Blanc was born in Besançon, France, but has lived in Britain for over 30 years. Arriving in England in 1972, he began his career at the Rose Revived restaurant, where he was working as a waiter when the chef at the time was taken ill. Raymond Blanc stepped in and the rest is history, as they say.
He opened Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Great Milton, Oxford in 1984 and, after just one year, it was named the “Egon Ronay Restaurant of the Year”, proving Le Manoir’s motto that “The good does not interest us. The sublime does.”
Today, Le Manoir is the only country house hotel in the UK which has achieved and retained two Michelin stars for nearly 30 years. Raymond Blanc also runs cookery courses at Le Manoir and grows all his own organic vegetables and herbs, which are used in his restaurant.
Influence
He has had a monumental influence on British cuisine – he has trained some 30 chefs who have gone on to be Michelin star winners – which has brought him numerous awards, decades of critical praise, and glowing admiration from fellow professionals and food lovers.
In the 1990’s, he also launched Le Petit Blanc group of restaurants, with an aim to be the best within the brasserie scene in England. The group was later re-launched as Brasserie Blanc and to date there are 19 Brasserie Blanc restaurants all over the country.
His television career has included a succession of phenomenally successful series, including most recently the Very Hungry Frenchman and Kitchen Secrets and, this July, he launches a new series on the BBC, How to Cook Well.
A passion for sharing, goodness and the perpetual quest for excellence
Raymond Blanc commented:
“Being French, I of course have an innate joy and curiosity when it comes to food and cooking. After all, wasn’t it in 2013 that UNESCO added France’s traditional gastronomic meal to the world’s intangible heritage list? That was the first time that gastronomy had made it onto that list. To me, the choice is totally tangible!
“Having lived in Britain for so long, I have definitely learnt to laugh at myself more and I am so happy that I have managed to build my successful career whilst inspiring others – there is nothing that makes my heart fuller than teaching the new generation and spreading the joy of cooking.
“I am proud beyond belief to be a Chevalier to my home country and accept the Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur and the Ordre du Mérite Agricole with joy and humility.”
French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Bernard Emié added:
“By becoming such a remarkable chef and by constantly offering this gift for the pleasure of all those who step inside your restaurant, you’ve vastly broadened your family circle and kitchen space. French gastronomy offered to our British friends!
“You know better than anyone that it’s not enough to love cooking or to be a good chef, because one rarely cooks alone. One must want to offer other people what one can do best, and no doubt achieve greater satisfaction from others’ pleasure than from one’s own.
“Cher Raymond Blanc, I believe you embody a cuisine that is synonymous with a passion for sharing, goodness and the perpetual quest for excellence.”