Career
Training as a waiter, Blanc worked at the Michelin-starred Le Palais de la Bière in Besançon. In 1972 he was fired for upsetting the head chef (Blanc had offered him advice on how to cook), but the manager knew of a job in England.
Not speaking English well enough to survive without a notepad, he was dispatched to The Rose Revived in Newbridge, Oxfordshire, arriving three days after landing at Dover in his Renault 5 Gordini. Blanc married the owner's daughter Jenny, and the couple had two sons.
In 1977, the couple opened Les Quat' Saisons in Summertown, Oxford: "we mortgaged the house, owed 18 further people, and opened in a corridor between a lingerie shop and Oxfam". An overnight success, he won "Egon Ronay Guide Restaurant of the Year", two Michelin stars and a host of other distinctions.
In 1981, Blanc opened a chain of boulangeries and pâtisseries called Maison Blanc that also contain cafès. There are currently 14 branches of Maison Blanc across the country, including several in London and one in Oxford. Maison Blanc cakes are now available nationwide in Waitrose.
In 1983, Blanc purchased a manor-house in the Oxfordshire village of Great Milton and opened Le 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".
Blanc opened the first of a chain of smaller restaurants, Le Petit Blanc 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". Raymond was a featured chef on Great Chefs television, appearing in Great Chefs of the World.
Blanc suffered two mini strokes when he was 42, brought on by stress and overwork
In June 2003, after nearly losing the chain as part of his divorce settlement to Jenny, the four Le Petit Blanc Brasseries (now known as Brasserie Blanc) in Birmingham (of 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 actively 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 Brasserie Blanc's:
1996 Opening of Le Petit Blanc brasserie, Oxford - Awarded one Michelin Star in its first year and was classed amongst the 10 best restaurants in Britain
1998 Cheltenham
1999 Birmingham - Closed 2008
2000 Manchester
2004 Tunbridge Wells - Closed 2009
2006 Le Petit Blanc re-launched as Brasserie Blanc
2007 Leeds and Milton Keynes
2008 Bristol and Winchester
2009 Portsmouth
2010 Chichester and Threadneedle Street, London
2012 Bath, Berkhamsted, St Albans and Chancery Lane, Charlotte Street, Covent Garden, St Paul’s and Tower Hill in London
On 13 January 2007, he appeared on Saturday Kitchen. In the Omelette Challenge, he came out last because he took the longest to cook an omelette. However, he was nudged up a few places by James Martin, right above Ken Hom, as Blanc produced a black truffle out of his pocket and garnished the finished omelette with truffle shavings.
Summer 2007 saw the BBC promotion for his new reality TV programme The Restaurant airing on UK television. (The show is known to BBC America viewers in the US as Last Restaurant Standing). The promo showed a group of well-dressed diners in a slow-motion food fight, to a Gonzales backing track. The show was aired as part of BBC Two's autumn season in 2007 and returned, with minor changes to the format, in 2008. In 2009, The Restaurant returned to BBC Two in a low-budget format. This season has been 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.
Raymond Blanc has made numerous appearances on all major television stations, during prime time viewing, in Great Britain. These include his own series Food & Drink in 1987, Take Six Cooks in 1986 and Masterchef in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995 & 1998 as well as ‘The Restaurant’, a BBC 2 series hosted by Raymond where nine couples compete to win their own restaurant.
2012 BBC 2 The Very Hungry Frenchman
2011 BBC Raymond Blanc's Christmas Feast
2011 BBC Kitchen Secrets 2 Second series of cookery show with a range of achievable and inspirational recipes for cooks of all abilities
2010 BBC Kitchen Secrets Cookery show with a range of achievable and inspirational recipes for cooks of all abilities.
2009 BBC ‘The Restaurant’ – Series 3
2008 BBC ‘The Restaurant’ – Series 2 Over eight weeks, nine couples compete to win a restaurant personally supported By Raymond Blanc.
2007 BBC ‘The Restaurant’ – Series 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 in a brand new 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
2002 “Passion for Perfection” Twelve part Carlton Television series
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. RB appeared on a few of the shows ‘cooking slots’
2000 ‘Friends for Dinner’ Six part BBC2 series with high profile chefs participating in individual episodes
1994 ‘Blanc Mange’ Six part BBC2 series on food and chemistry
1987 ‘Food & Drink’ Six part series on BBC2
1985 “Take Six Cooks”
Blanc is the author of several books, including Cooking for Friends and Foolproof French Cookery. He is also one of the patrons on the Children's Food Festival, which was held on the Northmoor Trust Estate in south Oxfordshire in June 2009.
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