Born into the Roux Family, there was never any doubt that Michel Roux Jr would cook. The son of Albert Roux, his early years were spent in Kent while his father worked as a private chef for the race- horse trainer Peter Cazalet and his family at their estate Fairlawne. Some of his earliest memories are playing under the table while his father and mother Monique prepared the meals; as well as going fishing and foraging for mushrooms and snails in the surrounding countryside with his family.

Michel left school at 16 to take up the first of many challenging apprenticeships, starting at Maître Patissier, Hellegouarche in Paris from 1976 to 1979. He was then Commis de Cuisine at Alain Chapel’s signature restaurant at Mionay near Lyon, Michel’s biggest influence. His military service was spent in the kitchens at the Elysée Palace at the time of Presidents Giscard d’Estaing and François Mitterrand. He also spent time at Boucherie Lamartine and Charcuterie Mothu in Paris, and the Gavvers Restaurant in London.

In 1984, he worked in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Hotel for six months to experience a different kind of cuisine, before returning to London to work at La Tante Claire, working for Pierre Koffmann, before joining the family business in 1985 first working at The Waterside Inn and then Le Gavroche. In 1991, he took over running Le Gavroche, gradually changing the style of cooking to his own, maintaining its classic French menu but with a lighter, modern twist.

After closing Le Gavroche in early 2024, Michel continues to tour with Le Gavroche pop-ups at such venues as Wimbledon and at sea with Cunard. Chez Roux at The Langham continued Michel's long relationship with the five-star London hotel.

Michel is a well-known personality on TV thanks to his work as a judge and presenter on several BBC and other TV stations, including Saturday Kitchen, Masterchef The Professionals and BBC Food and Drink.

He has been a judge for the Roux Scholarship since 1999, becoming co-chairman with his cousin Alain in 2016. Michel is passionate about training and developing future generations of chefs and has helped launch and supported the careers of hundreds of successful British chefs.