'Money in the bank? You're better off having it under the pillow and hoping for the tooth fairy'

Michel Roux: 'Money in the bank? You're better off having it under the pillow and hoping for the tooth fairy'
Fame & fortune: Michel Roux Jr, 49, is chef patron at the internationally famous Le Gavroche, the restaurant his father Albert and uncle Michel made the first British eatery ever to win three Michelin stars. Michel Jr lives with his wife Giselle, 52, and daughter Emily in Clapham.

By Mark Anstead
Published: 3:05PM BST 17 Jun 2009

Michel Roux: 'Banking has become terribly impersonal' Photo: ROGER TAYLOR
How did your childhood experience influence your attitude to money?
We didn't have much money – my father and mother had only just arrived on these shores from France. He became private chef to the Queen Mother's horse trainers and we lived in Kent, near Pembury.

We were surrounded by opulence, but we led a simple country life in a small pink cottage. As a child it seemed large but I have since been back to see it and it was only tiny. We grew our own vegetables and reared rabbits and pigeons, which my father slaughtered to eat.


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I am very cautious – throughout my childhood I was taught not to squander anything. To this day I like to recycle and use every last morsel in the kitchen, putting everything to use. For example, I never throw away potato peelings – you can fry them up and they make good French fries for staff lunch. And orange peelings can be made into petit fours – simply cook the peel in sugar.

There are some chefs who are brilliant at cooking, but when it comes to controlling their costs they are absolutely useless. That's why we've been seeing a lot of good chefs closing their doors because they cannot make ends meet.

Part of making ends meet is avoiding waste – I buy top quality meat on the bone so I can cut it myself instead of using a butcher because I believe I can get more from it myself. I use lamb trimmings for individual shepherd's pies, for example, and the bones to make my own stock or soup. Nothing should go in the bin.

Now that you are better off, are you happier?
I don't think so because I have some fantastically fond memories of my childhood sitting in the countryside with Mum and Dad. As soon as we moved to London my father worked every hour under the sun at Le Gavroche and I hardly ever saw him, so I realised then that being better off has its downsides.

Are you good with money or irresponsible?
I save religiously into a pension pot and I have money put aside for a rainy day. Is that being good?

How much have you been contributing to your pension?
I've been putting away more than 10pc of what I earn for the last 25 years and I tell all my staff to do the same. Many of them say they are too young to worry about it, but I tell them they are never too young. It doesn't matter what people say about how badly pension funds have performed – a stock market crash is only bad news if you need to take your money out now. They won't need it for another 30 years and it will be worth a lot more then.

But aren't you disappointed at the poor performance of your own pension funds?
Yes I'm disappointed, but I've got quite a few more years of my working life left for it all to turn around. I'm more disappointed that the Government has been tinkering with tax relief on pensions – they should keep the incentives for people to put money away because for too long we have been acting as if tomorrow will never come, and that's part of the reason for our crisis.

How do you prefer to pay for things – by cash, card or cheque?
Credit card, which I prefer to debit card because then I can earn points and air miles. I'm with NatWest Private Banking and am fairly happy with them, but not with their MasterCard division.

I went over my limit two years ago by £1.20 when purchasing three business class tickets to fly to South Africa. Bear in mind I been with NatWest since I was 16 and I have never been over my £15,000 limit before, but they sent me a very nasty letter saying I would be charged £20.

I phoned and told them I wanted the fee waived and that they should increase my limit because my wife had a higher ceiling and she isn't even working. I wanted an apology for the letter, but I didn't get one – I just got a very curt phone call saying they would waive the £20 but wouldn't increase my limit.

This is an example of how banking has become terribly impersonal. I switched to a Visa with another bank, who happily gave me a higher limit, but I kept my card open with NatWest waiting for an apology. You'd think they'd care that they have now lost between £4,000 and £5,000 spending each month from me.

How do you tip? Are you an easy tipper or do they have to work hard with you?
I always tip and I tip generously if I feel people have done a good job. I believe in tipping wholeheartedly. We pay our staff the going rate and our service charge is a voluntary extra.

Staff don't have to pay on tips, but the Government is trying to close this loophole by saying a discretionary service charge cannot go towards the minimum wage. The only winner out of changing the law will be the Government – the restaurateur will have to pay National Insurance and so will the employee.

Ultimately the customer will be footing the bill and everyone loses except the Inland Revenue.

Does talking about money embarrass you?
I feel I deserve my salary so I am happy to talk about what I earn with friends if they ask me. I don't want to say how much exactly in this interview, but I'll admit I will be affected by the new rate of income tax when it comes in in October.

How do you separate responsibility for finance with Giselle?
We have one joint account and separate bank accounts as well. There's no particular reason – it's just how it happened. I pay for the holidays and other big stuff and Giselle looks after all the shopping. She runs a very tight ship and never squanders money – she's not afraid to shop in cheaper outlets and gets great pleasure in finding bargains.

What has been your best buy?
My house in France. It's a beautiful five-bedroom old stone house that cost me €700,000 four years ago when the euro was at 1.55. When the euro reached parity I realised I'd made a massive saving.

Worst buy?
A white leather jacket I bought in the Asprey in Bond Street a few years ago for £500. It had a lovely purple lining and fitted me particularly well, but I've never had occasion to wear it.

What's been your greatest extravagance?
I have just bought a 1959 bottle of Chateau d'Yquem for £800. It's my birthday present for next year. I also tend to buy business class on long-haul flights, but I'm happy to fly Ryanair and easyJet as well for short trips.

How much did your home cost when you bought it?
I bought my three-bedroom flat in Clapham in 1989 for £120,000. I think the value must be not far off six times that now.

Have you ever invested in shares?
I have a little portfolio of shares and unit trusts and Isas. It's a managed fund – I sat down with my advisers to work out if I was a cautious or risky investor and now they make their own decisions from there.

Do you use high-interest savings accounts?
What's the point of having money in the bank? You're better off having it under the pillow and hoping for the tooth fairy. I took money out when the bank crisis started and used it to pay off some of my mortgage. I still have some money in deposit accounts because there is nowhere else to put it, but I am now almost completely mortgage free. I had a fairly good mortgage deal anyway – I was paying 4.25pc – but now I'm saving having to pay that, which is a lot better than getting just 1pc.

Do you bank online?
No I don't. I can just about switch computers on – my wife handles our emails.

How are you coping with the recession in your restaurant?
It is obviously having an effect. People are spending a bit less money, but we are doing very well. When times are hard I think people want brands they can rely upon and I believe that Le Gavroche falls into that category.

Join Michel Roux and other top chefs at the Taste Festival in Regents Park June 18-21, www.tastefestivals.com/london





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