Memories of Gascony

Pierre Koffmann has been at the heart of fine cuisine in Britain for over 40 years. After working as a young chef in Strasbourg and Toulon, Koffmann arrived in London in 1970 to work under Michel and Albert Roux at Le Gavroche. In 1972 he was made the first head chef of the Roux brothers' new venture, the Waterside Inn at Bray. When Pierre opened La Tante Claire in 1977, it was the start of a residency at the top of the London culinary world that would span four decades. Within six years of opening, La Tante Claire had its third Michelin star, setting new standards for cooking and creating extraordinary dishes from classically simple ingredients, while also serving as an academy for many of today's culinary superstars. Between them his various protégés, from Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay to Tom Kitchin and Jason Atherton, now boast over 20 Michelin stars in their own right. He retired in 2003, but following a sell-out of his critically hailed pop-up at Selfridges in 2009, he returned to the kitchen once more. His acclaimed, informal restaurant, Koffmann's at The Berkeley, serves classic provincial French cooking - the food of his grandparents' farmhouse kitchen. Find out more about Pierre Koffmann at www.pierrekoffmann.co.uk.