Le Gavroche marks closure with events for hospitality industry and charities

The restaurant, which originally opened in 1967 and is renowned for its classic French haute cuisine, will run its last service for the public this Saturday (13 January).

Roux Jr announced in August last year that he planned to close Le Gavroche​​, saying he wanted a better work/life balance without the daily demands of a busy Michelin-starred restaurant.

The first of the special dinners will be on 16 January for catering students from Westminster Kingsway College, College of Food University College Birmingham, and University of West London.

This will be followed on 17 January with a dinner for Le Gavroche’s long-standing suppliers; and a charity dinner and auction on the 18 January.

The latter, which sold out within minutes of being announced on Le Gavroche’s newsletter, will see all money from the evening donated equally to three charities that have been supported by Roux Jr over the years – VICTA, Hospitality Action, and BIGKID Foundation.

“It’s incredibly important to me that we close the restaurant on a high as a fitting tribute to everyone who has ever worked with us, dined with us or been inspired by what we have created at Le Gavroche,” says Roux Jr.

The restaurant will also invite guests on 27 January for an open day when cookbooks, house wine, branded T-shirts and aprons, chairs, sofas, glassware, silverware, kitchen equipment and crockery will be on sale.

While the restaurant may be closing, the Le Gavroche brand and the limited company will be retained by the Roux family and will be used for special events and pop ups, private and public, in different locations, potentially around the world.

“This is not ‘farewell’, but ‘au revoir’, as ‘Le Gavroche’ name will continue to be a familiar presence in pop-ups both in the UK and overseas, as well as in our other ventures,” Roux Jr adds.