Raymond Blanc

Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef, born in Besançon, France. He is a self-taught chef. Today he is one of the country's most respected chefs. Blanc is the owner and chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the Good Food Guide. Born in Besançon, the capital of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, between Burgundy and the Jura mountains, Raymond was inspired by the local terroir, and most of all by his mother, the formidable Maman Blanc who used fresh, local and seasonal produce to produce meals for her family.
In the ‘90s, Raymond opened his eponymous cookery school and the first of a series of Le Petit Blanc brasseries, which earned a Michelin star within a year. The chain, which has since been renamed Brasserie Blanc, now has branches all over the UK. Raymond’s remarkable contribution to the UK's culinary scene earned him an OBE from Her Majesty the Queen in 2007.