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Le Manior aux Quat'Saisons

Le Manior aux Quat'Saisons

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons combines the flair of a French country home with the pure opulence of a genteel English manor. As guests walk through the gates to Le Manoir, they enter a magical place where food, and the growing of that food, is at the heart of everything.

With Raymond an advocate of Le Chameau boots and his head gardeners, August and John, following course, it made perfect sense to showcase the Le Chameau boots worn when planting, growing, nurturing the vegetables and herbs and watching them flourish and add flavour to Raymond’s delicious dishes.

Since joining Le Manoir, August has achieved her RHS Level 2 in Horticulture and has found an overwhelming love and enthusiasm for growing her own food. This passion has taken her on a growing journey from the moment she walked down the lavender path and into the vegetable garden. She also has a successful seed company, the Seed Explorers, which brings alive the magic of growing your own food for our future generation. August is Head Tutor of the Raymond Blanc Gardening School.

John has been the Head Vegetable Gardener at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons for over 14 years. He used to work as a chef for many years which means his passion for his gardens extends into the cuisine which represents the final destination for each of his blooms.

John is also the King of the Mushroom Valley. He can usually be found inoculating logs and wrestling with mycelium.

Born in Besançon, France, in 1949, Raymond Blanc is acknowledged as one of the finest chefs in the world. His exquisite cooking has been the major force in Britain’s food revolution over the last twenty years, and as a result he is the recipient of tributes from every national and international guide to culinary excellence.

Raymond has never been formally trained. He began his career in England in 1972 as a waiter, took over the Rose Revived Restaurant when his chef became ill, and never looked back. He opened his own restaurant at the age of 28, ‘Les Quat’ Saisons’ in Oxford, and within just one year the restaurant had reached Michelin Star status.

In 1984 he fulfilled a personal vision, creating the hotel and restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Synonymous with all that is finest in dining and hospitality, Le Manoir offers an indulgent, yet joyfully informal setting to savour gourmet cuisine and relax in charming, stylish surroundings. It is the only hotel restaurant to have achieved and maintained two Michelin Status for over 37 years and the only property outside of London (and one of only three in the country) to sustain 5 AA Rosettes for that period of time.

Raymond is known globally for his passion for seasonal, organic produce. When sourcing food for his restaurant, he makes sure he knows everything about its provenance.

With his dedicated gardeners, he has cultivated herb beds in which 70 traditional and exotic varieties thrive, a two-acre vegetable garden produces over 90 types of vegetables a mushroom garden sprouts around 20 edible species, and an orchard brings in beautiful apples, pears, and quinces.

Testimonial from Raymond

‘To create the best dishes, you must start with using the very best ingredients. To create the best product, you start with the best materials; Le Chameau wellington boots are made using the highest quality rubber and then their skilled maître bottiers hand make every pair of boots to the very best standard. They can be worn in the garden as well as hunting and gathering and for fishing.’