Celebrating 50 years of Le Gavroche with: Bryn Williams

This year, the two-Michelin-starred Le Gavroche which transformed the UK culinary scene is celebrating its 50th anniversary - The Staff Canteen decided to speak to past members of the  brigade including Odette's Restaurant chef proprietor Bryn Williams.

• Which year did Le Gavroche first open?
• Which dishes from the Le Gavroche menu have been most popular over the past five decades?
• Which other top chefs have worked in the kitchen of Le Gavroche?

Widely regarded as one of the best chefs from Wales, Bryn trained in Le Gavroche’s iconic kitchen under the tutelage of Albert Roux and Michel Roux Jr.

“I started as a demi chef and finished as a sous chef under three years," Bryn said.

After Le Gavroche, Bryn went to work for 2002 Roux Scholar André Garret, who encouraged Bryn to compete in the scholarship and Bryn made it to the finals.

When asked what Bryn learnt from his time at Le Gavroche, he corrected us saying: “Maybe it’s a question of what I didn’t learn there."

He added: “You learn everything. You really learn how to be organised, disciplined and working tidily.”

Great British Menu

Bryn showcased the skills he collected when he competed in the first series of Great British Menu in 2006. At the time, Bryn was only a sous chef, but impressed the judges and viewers alike with his turbot and oxtail fish course, which he cooked for the Queen’s 80th birthday banquet.

“Not realising at the time, but the skills I learnt there (Le Gavroche) helped me massively when I opened my own restaurant," Bryn admitted. “The hours were a little bit crazy, but the group of boys and girls who worked there are so dedicated to the profession. Le Gavroche gives them the platform to learn and display their skills and passion through that kitchen.”

His years at Le Gavroche also prepared him for the years to come, when Bryn took over Odette’s, which now holds 3 rosettes from the AA Restaurant Guide and is listed in the Michelin Guide UK. Bryn attributes Le Gavroche’s on-going success to its unwavering high standards.

“If you walk past the front door, Le Gavroche is always immaculate," Bryn explains. “From the kitchen point of view, the standard and the discipline in the kitchen is the same. The salt pot goes to the same place; it had been there for 30 years when I was there so you weren’t allowed to move it.

Trained and inspired by the Rouxs

"At the time it does sound a little bit crazy but when you run your own business you start to understand that actually, that is how you should run a business where systems are in place and people fall into the systems, rather than everybody coming in and changing the system.”

Trained and inspired by the Rouxs, Bryn tells us what he thinks of them.
“A lot of people look at the Rouxs as the godfathers of gastronomy in Britain. They lead by example," he said. “That’s why they’ve been there for so long.”

By Thao Ly Nguyen