![]() It’s about promoting the entente cordiale through discovery, art and culture. “It’s not about showing off,” Blanc jokes, “but about how we can work together. ![]() This vision is reflected in the Jardin Blanc: a dining experience at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show taking in not just food, but sculpture, art and music – and aiming to share the richness of French culture with a British audience. People want authenticity, they want the truth – and that is what we aim to offer them at Le Manoir.” “But the modern consumer is more knowledgeable, aware and responsible. “The luxury sector was always one of the worst as far as sustainability was concerned, with lots of empty talk,” Blanc explains. My gardens are the canvas on which I base my gastronomy.”Ģ022 will mark ten years since Blanc became president of the Sustainable Restaurant Association – but his interest in building a sustainable company extends far beyond food itself. “Our twelve gardens are all organically grown, with no chemicals whatsoever – and that all comes from France, from my values. My mother taught me about the importance of local values, so I have always sought to buy local produce – generally within a 90-mile radius. “My values come from my home, my culture, and my little village, which gave me such a powerful, deep knowledge of food. “Sustainability is number one for me,” Blanc explains. “It is always so enriching to get French and British experts working together,” he says.įranco-British collaboration is also central to Blanc’s plans for the future of Le Manoir – a new vineyard, for example, is being developed with the help of both British and French agronomists.īuilding a sustainable business: French principles in practiceīlanc’s longstanding interest in sustainability stems from his French upbringing and the importance attached to terroir and local ingredients. We can find some excellent produce in Great Britain today, especially beef, lamb and seafood.”īlanc has also given Britons invaluable training in the French culinary tradition, with his head chef pâtissier helping a British team to get to the finals of the World Pastry Cup in 2011 – something that would have been unheard of in the past. “But if I can find better produce in England, I will use it. “We grow over 150 varieties of vegetables at Le Manoir, of which at least 60% are French,” says Blanc. This openness to new cultures and ideas has always driven new developments at Le Manoir: adapting French ingredients and traditions to a British context. Through my travels, I have gained a better knowledge of food, art, and culture, but also a better understanding of others: more empathy.” “I hate the idea of nationalism,” he says. Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: an intersection of culturesīlanc has always been keen to build bridges between the British and French cultures. To continue to move forward together, we need to look back on our past successes.” The niggling little problems that we occasionally see crop up are just escarmouches. “On matters of business, security, health – we share the same interests. “Brexit has of course had an impact on business relationships between Britain and France – but we are too close geographically to not have a good relationship,” he says. “It has taken me over 40 years to realise, but there are so many lovely British qualities that have enriched me and, hopefully, made me a better Frenchman!”ĭespite the fallout from Britain’s departure from the EU, Blanc is sure that the strength of the Franco-British relationship will endure. The British have that lovely quality of knowing how to listen to others, and they feel they can laugh at themselves. “We French take ourselves and our opinions very seriously, and we react very quickly to what others say. Over the decades Raymond Blanc, chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, has become one of the best-known French figures living and working in the UK.Īs a Frenchman living in the UK for over 40 years, Raymond Blanc has long been aware of how French and British mentalities differ – but also how they can complement one another. ![]() Raymond Blanc: building bridges between France and the UK
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