Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc is so absent minded, he once turned up for a
speaking engagement in New York, thinking he was in Seattle.
“I never really look at my diary and I had to make a speech in Seattle, but
for some reason I’d got it in my head that it was a district in New York,”
he admits.
“So I got off in New York and picked up my bags. There was no-one there to
greet me, which I thought was a bit odd, because they usually look after
you. But anyway, I got in a taxi and asked to be taken to the Sheraton. At
reception, they didn’t even have my booking, so I started to get a bit
annoyed.
“I said to the receptionist, ‘look you have booked me to speak to 2,000 people
at your hotel’. He consulted the computer and looked a bit puzzled. ‘Are you
sure?’ he asked. ‘Yes, of course I’m sure, the Sheraton in Seattle’, I
stormed. ‘Sir, Seattle is about eight hours away,’ he replied. You can
imagine how stupid this guy with a crazy French accent must have looked! I
then had to quickly fly there, via Los Angeles, to make the appointment. I
was speaking with a Scottish guy and he was going mad, asking where on earth
I had been. I was absolutely knackered, had a triple expresso and went
straight on stage. The speech was a big success, but I think it is because
they could not understand a word that these two guys with funny accents were
saying!’
Blanc, 59, came to England from France in 1972 and has established himself as
one of the country’s best known celebrity chef. He has one restaurant in the
UK, the two Michelin star Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire, and
several brasseries and patisseries. He recently published a book A Taste
of My Life and is the star of the BBC2 reality television programme, The
Restaurant. He travels extensively to promote his brand and recipes.
Have you had any other mishaps abroad?
Last year I went to the Maldives to see my good friend Sonu Shivdasani, the
chief executive of Six Senses. He invited me to come and cook in his hotels.
The deal was that I would cook for three days and then have a 10-day
holiday, which seemed fair. But when I arrived, none of the produce was
there. I had to work 14-hour days for the entire time, changing the menus
and making the best of what we had. I thought I was going to be on the
beach, but I hardly saw it.
Have there been any unfortunate incidents in the UK?
I drove to Heathrow a while back to get a flight to Japan. When I came back I
had completely forgotten where I had put my car – I didn’t even know which
airport car park it was in. I phoned the reception at Le Manoir and asked
‘do you know where my car is?’ The receptionist asked ‘well, where did you
put it?’ If I’d known that I wouldn’t have been ringing up for help!
I had to hire a car at the airport and drive around all the different car
parks, lane by lane. I’m not joking, it took around nine hours to find the
car; it was in the last car park that I looked in.
You do seem rather forgetful.
I’m very forgetful, a bit of an Inspector Clouseau character. One thing I
have learnt in all my time here is that you have to laugh at yourself, at
least a little bit. The French are not good at that. I’ve lost my passport
before now and a kind soul returned it to me and I also lose dozens of pairs
of glasses a year. However, I must say that if something is very important I
don't lose it.
