Following in her father’s footsteps, Michel Roux Jr.’s daughter, chef Emily Roux, is to open her first restaurant in Notting Hill in west London this year.
Emily Roux and her father Michel Roux Jr.
As reported by Eater, Roux’s debut restaurant, called Caractère, will be a joint venture with her husband Diego Ferrari, the head chef of Le Gavroche.
Taking over Bumpkin bistro on the corner of Ledbury Road in Notting Hill, the venue will assure the continuation of the celebrated Roux culinary dynasty in the UK for the next generation.
Given Ferrari and Roux’s roots, Caractère will take inspiration from French and Italian cooking. The corner 2,500sq ft site will be in illustrious culinary company, sharing a neighbourhood with The Ledbury, Core by Clare Smyth and 108 Garage.
Emily is well aware of the expectations that come with the Roux family name. “I left for France because I wanted to be more anonymous without the pressure of being a Roux.
“I’m lucky enough to have been taught by some of the greatest chefs in the world, but I wanted to be able to find my own feet and make my own name. It was easier to do that away from the UK,” the chef says on her website.
Emily Roux will become the third generation of the famous Anglo-French Roux dynasty to run their own restaurant in the UK.
Her grandfather Albert and father Michel Jr. run the two Michelin-starred French fine dining restaurant Le Gavroche in Mayfair, which opened in 1967.
The three star Waterside Inn in Bray is run by her uncle Alain Roux, and was founded by Albert Roux and his brother Michel Roux Sr. in 1972.
