Cateys 2023: Ruby Catey: Raymond Blanc

Raymond Blanc wins the Ruby Catey, sponsored by P&O Cruises

To mark the Cateys’ 40th birthday, we have introduced a one-off award, the Ruby Catey, to recognise an individual who has redefined British hospitality and set the benchmark for delivering sustainable gastronomy during a stellar career spanning more than five decades.

Raymond Blanc’s life work is epitomised in Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, a Belmond hotel, also now in its 40th year, where he holds five red AA stars, has maintained two Michelin stars for more than 35 years and been awarded a green Michelin star.

In 1984, when Blanc launched a restaurant serving classic French cuisine, led by the produce grown in its organically farmed gardens, following the seasons and putting sustainable, environmentally sound practices at its heart, he was a true pioneer.

Indeed, he has said that when he arrived in Britain in the 1970s he found “all the food was frozen, microwaved or beige”. At Le Manoir in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, he created the antithesis to this and from the outset his guests, as well as the critics and guides, loved it.

As well as being chef-patron he co-founded Brasserie Bar Co (now Heartwood Collection), is a well-known television chef and author, chef-director of the Diamond Club at the Emirates Stadium and in 2012 was named culinary director at Eurostar. He was also appointed the first president of the Sustainable Restaurant Association in 2012 and supports charitable projects including the Chefs Adopt a School programme.

Many accolades have come Blanc’s way. He was made an OBE in 2008 for promoting culinary excellence and raising awareness of the importance of healthy food, and picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cateys in 2009, 19 years after winning the Chef Catey; he has collected the same award from both the AA and Hotelympia. In 2013, he was presented with the insignia of chevalier in the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, the highest French decoration.

Le Manoir also topped The Caterer’s Hoteliers’ Hotels Top 100 list, voted for by the UK’s leading hoteliers, in both 2017 and 2018, and in 2017 he was inducted into the British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame.

To say he has transformed British gastronomy is no overstatement. The chefs who have travelled through the kitchens of Le Manoir, including Marco Pierre White, Michael Caines, Ollie Dabbous, Paul Heathcote and Alan Murchison, have gone on to shape a generation.

Caines, chef patron of Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor in Exmouth, told The Caterer about his experiences in the kitchen of Le Manoir: “It was electrifying, it was inspirational and aspirational. As a 19 or 20-year-old going into that kitchen you’re in awe of the surroundings; we were touching greatness, rubbing shoulders with the elite and getting adulation and appreciation for our efforts.

“Raymond showed us how to elevate humble ingredients into amazing food – he connected people. I don’t think you can underestimate the impact he’s had on the food scene in the UK. For so long Le Manoir has been the benchmark.

“Hundreds of chefs have benefited from his vision. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without knowing Raymond.”