Pierre Koffmann set to close Koffmann's at The Berkeley the end of the year

The Staff Canteen

He's celebrating 50 years in the kitchen but in an interview with Richard Vines for Bloomberg, Michelin-starred chef Pierre Koffmann, has announced 'he is looking for something new'.

Koffmann's at the Berkeley will close as the hotel plans to redevelop the site. And speaking to Bloomberg he said: 

"I would have loved to stay for a few more years, to be honest," Koffmann said in an interview.  "I really enjoyed cooking in a restaurant again. The kitchen is where I am happy. But we knew from the beginning it was only for a few years because the plan was to expand that side of the hotel. It was part of the deal when I came to open Koffmann's.

"When the restaurant closes, I'll just carry on — same life. I am not going to go on holiday. I don’t really enjoy holidays. I'll try to look for something new to happen."

Pierre Koffmann is most famous for his three Michelin starred restaurant La Tante Claire,  the restaurant gained three Michelin stars before it was moved to the Berkeley Hotel in 1998.

While chef patron of La Tante Claire, Pierre trained some of today’s top chefs such as Tom Aikens, Tom Kitchin, Marco Pierre White and Bruno Loubet. Between them the many chefs he trained now hold over 20 Michelin stars. He decided to retire in 2003, but became bored after a year and came back to the hospitality sector as a consultant to some major food retailers.

>>> Read: The man, the chef, the legend: Pierre Koffmann

 

In 2009 he agreed to open a ‘pop-up’ La Tante Claire for the Restaurant on the Roof at Selfridges for supposedly one week only, to celebrate the London Restaurant Festival. This actually lasted three
months, and afterwards he returned to The Berkeley to open Koffmann’s with his partner and business partner Claire.

 

 

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The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 4th July 2016

Pierre Koffmann set to close Koffmann's at The Berkeley the end of the year