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