About Pierre Koffmann

Pierre Koffmann’s Journey:

21/08/1948: Pierre Koffmann is born in Tarbes, in the Pyrenees, France

1963: Pierre begins a three year cookery course at the College d’Enseignement Technique Reffye at Tarbes.

1966: Pierre goes to work his first job at L’Aubette in Strasbourg. His next post was on the French Riviera before he went to Switzerland to work in Lusanne.

1970: Pierre’s love of rugby takes him to England. He works for Michele and Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in London. Within six months he has been promoted to ‘number two’ at Le Gavroche.

1971-2: Pierre then worked at the Roux brother’s city restaurant Brasserie Benoit opposite the Old Bailey.

1972: Pierre marries Annie at Saint Puy.

November, of the same year: Pierre is hired by Michele Roux to be head chef of his new restaurant, The Waterside Inn in Bray. Pierre remains for five years.

1977: Pierre, and his late wife Annie, open their first restaurant La Tante Claire in Chelsea. It was the start of Pierre’s residency at the top of the London culinary world, which would span four decades.

1978: La Tante Claire awarded its first Michelin star.

1980: La Tante Claire awarded its second Michelin star.

1990: Pierre Koffmann Memories of Gascony by Pierre Koffmann with Timothy Shaw is published.

1992: La Tante Claire wins its third Michelin star.

1996: Annie Koffmann passes away.

1998: La Tante Claire moves from its original home in Chelsea’s Royal Hospital Road to The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge.

2003: La Tante Claire, located at The Berkeley, closes its doors.

2009: Koffmann came out of retirement to celebrate the inaugural London Restaurant Festival. At Selfridges, Londoners were able to experience again the wondrous talents of Pierre Koffmann. His pop-up La Tante Claire called Restaurant on the Roof was a destination for anyone serious about food and a once in a lifetime opportunity for people to eat on the roof of Selfridges, where its customers are not usually allowed to go.

2010: Koffmann’s at The Berkeley Hotel opens to critical acclaim.

2011: The Koffmann’s Supper Club launches.

Things you might not know about Pierre Koffmann:

  1. Pierre Koffmann’s nickname is the ‘Bear’. Not only because of his size, but because in the past he has been difficult to work for, especially when he was running La Tante Claire.
  2. Pierre Koffmann’s daily guilty pleasure is his morning cappuccino.
  3. Pierre’s favourite sport is rugby. His favourite player of all time is Jean Dupuy. More recently, he admires Dan Hipkiss and Geordan Murphy.
  4. Koffmann’s original brigade from his haute cuisine days comprises of many of today’s best chefs such as Tom Kitchin, Eric Chavot, Tom Aikens, Raphael Duntoye, Helena Puolakka and William Curley - now all highly reputed head chefs in their own right. Between them his various protégés now boast over 20 Michelin stars in their own right.
  5. La Tante Claire gained its name because Pierre had a friend and shareholder called Professor Michael von Clemm who was at the time one of the bosses at Merrill Lynch. He had an aunt called Claire, which led him and Pierre to discuss that English people learn the phrase`La plume de ma tante est sur la table de mon oncle’. And so the name La Tante Claire was born.
  6. Pierre is a father to Camille, named after his grandmother, Louis and Margaux
  7. He loves to forage for mushrooms and find snails.
  8. He rigidly follows the Tour de France competition each year.
  9. He is a keen salmon and trout fisherman.
  10. He has a vintage Maserati Khamsin.
  11. If you want to put him in a bad mood serve him an unripe fig.