More than a celebrity chef, Yotam Ottolengi (45) is a phenomenon: known as the man who “sexed up” vegetarian food -despite not being a vegetarian himself- he is also according to The New Yorker Magazine responsible for changing the way Londoners eat. His impact on the London culinary scene since the opening in 2002 of the first Ottolenghi deli, followed by two other branches and restaurant Nopi, is deemed so big that the Financial Times recently suggested that a new verb -“to ottolengh”- should be introduced in dictionaries to reflect his influence. Not bad for an ex-journalist who only started his career as a chef aged 30… Here, the Israeli-born delis supremo tells to Chic-Londres about his favourite foodie places in London.

When and where did you start your career? I did a six month cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu in London in 1997. Following this, I worked as a pastry chef in various restaurants before Sami and I met in the kitchen of Baker and Spice in 1999. Our paths had never crossed before but our backgrounds, palates and plans had a huge amount in common. Together with Noam Bar, we wanted to set up the best sweet and savoury take away food deli in London. The scope of the delis and restaurants has evolved and grown since then but, really, we haven’t looked back. read more

Hélène Darroze (45) has been busy since she moved to London in 2008 to oversee the kitchens of the luxurious Connaught Hotel. Under her direction, the gastronomy restaurant has gained two Michelin stars in record time, as well as a new crowd of glamorous food lovers enamoured with its French Landes’ cuisine with a twist. She has also maintained her two Michelin stars in her eponymous restaurant in Paris, while working on the opening of another establishment under her name in Moscow. The heiress of a long line of chefs, she is also the mother of two little girls she adopted in Vietnam and one of the most popular public figures in France. Here, she talks to Chic-Londres about her favourite food addresses in London.

When and why did you decide to become a chef? I’ve always loved cooking and used to bake cakes a lot as a child. But because I was very academic, it didn’t cross my parents’ mind nor mine to stop school and go into apprenticeship to become a chef. Instead I studied business in Bordeaux, before ending up working at Alain Ducasse’s restaurant in Monaco, in the office rather than in the kitchen. However, he quickly spotted my passion for cooking and persuaded me to switch career to become a chef- which I did, first taking over my father at the family’s restaurant and then opening my own restaurant in Paris in 1999. read more

Tom Aikens (40), the son of a wine merchant from Norwich, is undisputedly one of the most exciting young chefs in Britain. Having trained and worked with several Michelin-starred chefs, from David Cavalier and Pierre Koffman in London to Joël Robuchon and Gérard Boyer in France, he went on to become, at 26, the youngest ever British chef to gain two Michelin stars. His eponymous restaurant, Tom Aikens, opened in 2003 in Chelsea, has held one Michelin star since 2004. His other ventures include the openings of Tom’s Kitchen in South Kensington in 2006, Tom’s Terrace and Tom’s Deli at Somerset House in April 2010, which will soon be followed by a second Tom’s Kitchen, also in Somerset House.

How would you describe the British approach to food and how its recent evolution? In 1989, when I first moved to London, there were very few notable restaurants. But by the mid-90s, London saw an explosion in the number of restaurants, thanks in part to Terence Conran who opened so many of them, but also because people seemed suddenly much more interested in dining out and in food, as shown by the popularity of TV shows and celebrity chefs. I would say that British food on the whole has changed massively in the past fifteen years, with London becoming one of the best cities in the world in terms of its restaurants’ offer. read more

Alain Roux -Chef Patron of the Waterside Inn in Bray- is part of the most renowned French cooking dynasty in England, his father Michel and uncle Albert having trained over 800 chefs and imprinted their unique turn on French food to former apprentices such as Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Pierre Koffman. While Le Gavroche in Mayfair -opened in 1967 and now under his cousin Michel Junior’s management- became the first restaurant in Britain to win three Michelin stars in 1982, his own restaurant -also originally opened by Michel and Albert- is celebrating this month 25 years of holding three Michelin stars, the highest culinary accolade. Here, London-born Alain (42) talks to Chic-Londres about his cuisine and what it feels like to be a French-English chef.

Your family name is a symbol of Gallic cuisine, yet you were born here: do you consider yourself as a French or English chef? As an individual, I would say I consider myself as primarily English, but with a French background. As for my cooking philosophy, it is definitely French. My father’s influence is obviously very important, as we worked for ten years side by side in the kitchen, and he is still the first to try all my new dishes. Also I trained and worked in France for fifteen years, so this is definitely part of my education. Yet, having said that, I love to cook with British ingredients and love English specialties, such as puddings, pies or fish and chips. read more

Ruth Rogers, who forms with her husband Lord Richard Rogers -architect of the Pompidou Centre and the Millenium Dome- half of the most notable “power couples” in London, opened The River Café in 1987. Holder of one Michelin star since 1998, the restaurant has trained chefs like Jamie Oliver while becoming the unofficial canteen for London’s most prominent personalities. Here, Ruth, who was recently appointed a Member of the British Empire by the Queen, talks to Chic-Londres about the “cucina rustica” and her favourite places to buy and eat food.

When did you start your career as a chef?I opened The River Café with Rose Gray, my business partner and great friend, in 1987. Neither of us was a professional trained chefs and we only ever cooked for your own family and friends. But we both had spent a lot of time in Italy and knew we wanted to cook the kind of food we only ever had in Italian homes and that you couldn’t find at the time in London, like simple grilled meat and fish, much simpler than the kind of heavy dishes then on offer.

How would you describe the British approach to food and how its recent evolution?For a long time, the British seemed really underexposed to European continental food, while the old British culinary tradition all but disappeared, so the offer had become quite bad. Then, with the ascent of cheap airlines, they discovered how much they enjoyed food from France, Spain or Italy, and started to focus more on this kind of fresh, seasonal style of cooking. People also realised that eating out didn’t have to be formal, but that really good food could be served in a relaxed environment. read more

When Pierre Koffmann (63) moved to London in 1970, his original plan was to stay just long enough to be able to watch England play France in Twickenham. 43 years later, he is still here and has made his mark as one of the undisputed big names of the London gastronomy scene. As one of the first and very few UK-based chefs to have won three Michelin stars in 1983 at his restaurant La Tante Claire -an accolade he kept until he retired in 2003- he has trained such talents as Marco-Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aikens, further proof if needed of his legendary savoir-faire. He stepped out of retirement in 2009 to open a pop up restaurant at Selfridges, which proved so successful that it was extended from six days to two months. In 2010, he went back to work full time as head chef of Koffmann’s, a brasserie-style restaurant at The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. Here, the Gascony-born chef, who lives in Little Venice with his wife Claire, talks to Chic-Londres about food and his favourite addresses in London.

When and why did you decide to become a chef? Both my mother and grand-mother were great cooks, so I learnt from a young age to enjoy good food and to make dishes, such as crepes or cakes. I wasn’t particularly brilliant at school so when I reached the age of 15, my teachers decided that I’d be much better off learning a trade or working than pursuing academic studies for which I was clearly not suited. So I chose to study hospitality, as I wanted to remain at school rather than start working at the railways or at the dockyard- my other options at the time. And I realised I really enjoyed cooking… read more

After twelve years spent in Alain Ducasse’s various restaurants in France, Jocelyn Herland (39) arrived in London in 2007 to become Executive Chef when Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester first opened. While it must have been daunting to open a new restaurant under the name of the most famous chef in the world –and the only one to have held 19 Michelin stars throughout his career-, he must have made his master proud, by succeeding to receive three Michelin stars in both 2010 and 2011- an achievement only shared with Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in Chelsea. Here, the Auvergne-born chef speaks to Chic-Londres about his cuisine and favourite addresses in the British capital.

When did you decide you wanted to become a chef? From the age of ten, I wanted to be either a butcher or a cook, and really enjoyed cooking easy dishes for my family. I started learning the trade when I was 18, when I became old enough to decide what I wanted to do without having to follow my parents’ advice, which was to do more academic studies.

How would you describe the British approach to food? First, I would say that the French influence is quite obvious, if only because the culture of gastronomy was introduced in London by Frenchmen, namely the Roux brothers, who went on to train notable British chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Marco-Pierre White or Marcus Wareing. But what makes London really unique is its capacity to absorb many cultural influences, not only in the variety of nationalities that one can find here, but also in the way that this diversity is reflected on the plate. read more