{"id":20697,"date":"2026-01-30T13:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/chef-emily-roux-on-caractere-michelin-stars-and-the-roux-legacy\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T13:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:14:37","slug":"chef-emily-roux-on-caractere-michelin-stars-and-the-roux-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/chef-emily-roux-on-caractere-michelin-stars-and-the-roux-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Emily Roux on Caract\u00e8re, Michelin Stars and the Roux Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Emily Roux. Rebecca Dickson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a particularly chilly December night in London, but Caract\u00e8re<\/a>, a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Notting Hill, is slowly filling with guests. It\u2019s a sought-after reservation, not just due to Caract\u00e8re<\/a>\u2019s popularity, but because chef and owner Emily Roux<\/a> is collaborating on a special holiday menu with her father, Michel Roux Jr., one of London\u2019s most famed culinary figures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe often get asked around Christmastime, \u2018How does the Roux family do Christmas?\u2019\u201d Emily, 35, tells Observer, a few weeks into January. \u201cSo many people were interested, so we created our own little Christmas menu. The first year we did it, it was over four nights, and the demand was humongous. The next year, it was even more successful. This year, we extended it into January.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The lure of the Roux family itself surely contributes to guests\u2019 curiosity. Michel closed the influential Le Gavroche<\/a> in 2024, which he had helmed since 1991 after taking it over from his equally renowned father, Albert Roux<\/a>, and uncle, Michel Roux. Emily grew up with the restaurant and spent many hours peeling potatoes and chopping vegetables in its kitchen from an early age. She and her dad now collaborate a few times each year, often doing a special menu for Father\u2019s Day at Caract\u00e8re. The Christmas event is an opportunity for regulars and newcomers to get a peek at the Roux family legacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOpening Caract\u00e8re was very much a decision of [creating] my own thing,\u201d Emily says. \u201cBut we both get on extremely well.\u201d She adds, \u201cI\u2019m an only child, so we were always a tight little family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emily was immersed in food and cooking from an early age. She grew up primarily in London, although her family also spent time in France. Both her father and grandfather were well-known in the culinary world; Michel Jr. was one of the U.K.\u2019s first real celebrity chefs. When he became a judge on the BBC\u2019s <\/span>MasterChef: The Professionals<\/span><\/i> in 2008, he started being noticed on the street. \u201cThings have changed so much, but at the time, there wasn\u2019t really anyone that recognizable besides Jamie Oliver<\/a> and Gordon Ramsay<\/a>,\u201d Emily says. \u201cIt was quite a pivotal moment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although there was no pressure from her family, Emily knew by age 12 or 13 that she also wanted to pursue a career in the culinary world. \u201cI started to feel at home in a kitchen around that age, and school was getting more and more difficult, sitting down behind a desk and concentrating on something that I didn\u2019t think was going to be useful to me,\u201d she says. \u201cThe whole school thing and academics and writing were not for me. But I felt so at home in a team and in a brigade and in a kitchen. They became my brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of continuing her training in London, Emily decided to enroll in culinary school in France. Her French last name, Roux, is commonplace there, despite holding such prestige in London\u2019s food scene. She attended Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon for three years, where she lived her best life as \u201ca total nobody.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do it all for myself,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to have any judgment or to have anyone saying, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s Michel Roux\u2019s daughter.\u2019 I was lucky because I spoke French, so the opportunity was there.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of returning to London, Emily went to Monaco at the age of 20, accepting a job at Alain Ducasse<\/a>\u2019s three-Michelin-starred Le Louis XV. It was in the kitchen there that she met Diego Ferrari<\/a>, her now-husband and the co-owner and chef at Caract\u00e8re. The couple later moved to Paris, where Emily spent time at Le 39V<\/a> and Akrame<\/a>. After three years in Paris, the couple decided they wanted to return to London. Ferrari took an opportunity to become head chef at Le Gavroche, and during his time there, the couple began planning for their own restaurant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Caract\u00e8re\"Caract\u00e8re
Emily Roux opened Caract\u00e8re in 2018. \u00a9johncarey2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I had any real vision of it physically, although we didn\u2019t want something too big or too small,\u201d Emily says. \u201cIt was more about the vibe. We didn\u2019t want something too fanciful. I wanted guests to feel comfortable and at home, so they would come on a more frequent basis than once a year for an occasion. Having staff that were friendly and not obtrusive. And, actually, that\u2019s something I feel we\u2019ve achieved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Caract\u00e8re opened its doors in a light-filled corner site in Notting Hill in 2018. Since then, tons of buzzy new restaurants have debuted on the nearby streets<\/a>. \u201cWe chose the right place,\u201d Emily notes. \u201cThere\u2019s everything that you could want in here now. As a tourist who wants to enjoy food, you could stay in Notting Hill for three days and live your best life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Each year, Caract\u00e8re itself has evolved. Both Emily, who currently handles pastry, and Ferrari, who handles savory, want to continue finessing the dishes and their overall service. Covid-19 was a hurdle, but it also helped to streamline their approach. Instead of serving lunch and dinner every day, they now focus primarily on dinner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there were so many less covers, we could pay more attention to detail and up our game when it came to the kitchen,\u201d Emily says. \u201cWe\u2019re also a smaller amount of staff, so we\u2019re a tighter unit. A lot of positives later on emerged from that.\u201d While the financial situation during Covid was \u201chorrific\u201d and stressful, Emily acknowledges that \u201cit probably did help us for the best.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing that doesn\u2019t change is how Caract\u00e8re presents its menu. Instead of being divided by categories like \u201cstarters\u201d and \u201cmains,\u201d the \u00e0 la carte menu showcases its offerings with more whimsical descriptions: \u201csubtle,\u201d \u201cdelicate,\u201d \u201crobust.\u201d Guests can order individually or build a five-course tasting menu with a dish from each description (the latter runs \u00a3150 per person).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat idea goes with the name of the restaurant and who we are,\u201d Emily says. \u201cWe have character. We like being bold and different. Starter, main course, dessert is great, but food has character. Could our characters be intertwined into these specific foods? So it is fun, but there\u2019s also meaning behind it and a reasoning behind it. We have them in mind as we create dishes.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The\"The
The Balfeg\u00f3 bluefin tuna at Caract\u00e8re. Rebecca Dickson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New dishes come and go based on seasonality, and both chefs tend to collaborate alongside the team. Some never see the light of day, but others emerge in only hours. The Balfeg\u00f3 bluefin tuna dish on the current menu, served with radish, yuzu and chili, was an immediate yes from everyone in the kitchen. \u201cIt looked stunning and it tasted amazing,\u201d Emily recalls. \u201cThat does happen, but more often we have to change something or tweak things.\u201d A few dishes have established themselves as signatures, particularly a take on cacio e pepe made with celeriac instead of pasta noodles. It pays homage to Ferrari\u2019s Italian heritage, as well as Emily\u2019s personal love of pasta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother-in-law makes an amazing, traditional cacio e pepe with homemade pasta, and I love it,\u201d she says. \u201cI said to Diego, \u2018Oh, wouldn\u2019t it be amazing to have my favorite dish, but also your family, intertwined in this restaurant?\u2019\u201d Ferrari worried it wouldn\u2019t be sophisticated enough for Caract\u00e8re. They trialed a few options, including one with potato noodles, but couldn\u2019t come up with something that seemed suitably elegant and indulgent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen we tried it with the celeriac,\u201d Emily says. \u201cNot only is it kind of the same color as a pasta, [but] cooking it al dente is actually quite nice. The celeriac taste goes incredibly well with the cheese and the pepper. We focused on how to plate it well and using the best possible ingredients. If you love cheese, you\u2019ll order it every time. It was never meant to stay, but we kept it in the end because it speaks about us and the family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She adds, of keeping the menu in flux, \u201cTo be honest, our regulars can ask us for anything, and we\u2019ll get it for them. But I\u2019d like to think that we change things up in the best way and get people to discover new things.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, Caract\u00e8re showcases what Emily and Ferrari enjoy cooking, eating and drinking. They don\u2019t serve oysters, for example, because neither of them eats oysters and wouldn\u2019t know how to best showcase the ingredient. \u201cAll of the menu and all of everything that is at Caract\u00e8re is very much us, and something that we\u2019ve approved and agreed upon and loved,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of owning your own restaurant. That\u2019s what any young chef who aspires to have a restaurant is like: \u2018I want to do me. I want to do what I want.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Caract\u00e8re earned its first Michelin star in early 2025. It was a milestone moment for the restaurant, and it has helped draw a more international crowd into its doors. The goal is to earn a second star, although Emily doesn\u2019t expect that to come right away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely have the team in place for that to happen, and we both have the knowledge to make that happen,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I think these things also do take time. Diego and I are both ambitious people, and we\u2019ve got a team who wants to follow us on that journey.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Building a reputation and a restaurant outside of her family has been important for Emily, but she also wants to remain connected to the legacy her grandfather, great-uncle and father have built.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy family will always be mentioned and intertwined simply because they\u2019ve been so incredibly game-changing for this country and the food scene in this country,\u201d she says. \u201cAs I\u2019ve gotten older, I have shoulders to better support what can come with that. Growing up, thank God I was in France, and I was doing my own thing. I think I will always get remarks because my family, like, how did I actually get here? Was it simply because of my name, and my father, and grandfather? Can I actually cook? You need broad shoulders to take that in. And as I\u2019ve grown up and become a mom myself, I\u2019m okay with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She acknowledges that she pushes herself not because it will add to the family legacy, but because she has her own goals. \u201cI don\u2019t think my parents would be any less proud of me if I didn\u2019t have any accolades,\u201d Emily says. \u201cDo I want them? Yes. I want them for myself and for my team and for my restaurant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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