Albert Roux, the French chef whose London restaurant Le Gavroche was the first in Britain to earn three Michelin stars, died on Monday. He was 85 years old.
His death was confirmed in a statement on the restaurant’s website, citing Roux’s family.
The statement said that Mr. Roux “has not been well for some time”. He did not give the cause of death or say where he died.
Roux and his brother, Michel Roux, who died last year, took gastronomy to a new level in London with the opening of Le Gavroche in 1967 on Lower Sloane Street in Chelsea. It received the name of the fictional boy character, or “boy”, in Victor Hugo’s “The Miserable”
At the time, it was the only restaurant offering classic French cuisine in London.
Le Gavroche was the first restaurant in Britain to receive one, two and three Michelin stars, and was the first Michelin-rated restaurant to offer a fixed price lunch. He was awarded the third Michelin star in 1982.
The restaurant, which moved to Mayfair in 1982, currently has two Michelin stars.
“He has been a mentor to so many people in the hospitality industry and a real inspiration for budding chefs, including me,” said Roux’s son Michel Roux Jr., who has run the restaurant since 1991, in a statement.
Albert and Michel Roux were appointed honorary officers of the Order of the British Empire in 2002.
The Michelin Guide to Great Britain said on Twitter that Mr. Roux was “a father of the UK restaurant industry and his legacy will live on through the many chefs who have passed through his kitchen”.
Among these chefs were Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Ramsay described Roux as a “legend, the man who installed gastronomy in Britain”.
A complete obituary will be published soon.