Raymond Blanc's Le Café Crème by Le Manoir

Benoit is chef patissier at Oxfordshire’s Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, where he has worked closely with Raymond Blanc OBE for more than 20 years.

Leading a team of 13 pastry chefs, Benoit uses his expertise to create a range of fresh breads, viennoiseries, chocolates, ice creams, pastries and plated desserts. The hotel and restaurant has held two Michelin stars for more than 30 years and is part of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux collection.

After taking up an apprenticeship at a local bakery in Normandy, Benoit’s career exploded. After a year’s National Service as a naval chef, working at the Normandy Hotel in Deauville, he landed the position of Senior Sous Chef, Pastry, at the world renowned Hotel Ritz in Paris in 1991. Here he worked and trained among many of the best chefs in France, MOFs (Meilleur Ouvrier de France).

He was team president of the UK Pastry Team in the 2011 Pastry World Cup and is now the Chairman of the UK Pastry Club which has been created to promote and develop pastry in the UK but also to find and support future British pastry teams. He achieved the title of MCA (Master of Culinary Arts) in 2005, the highest accolade in the industry, awarded only every four years to the best pastry chefs in the UK.

In 1995 Raymond Blanc persuaded him to come to the UK to work at Belmond Le Manoir. Described as ‘a twist of imaginative genius’, Raymond Blanc’s vision for Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons has always been one of world-class gastronomic flair and outstanding organic produce. The restaurant earned two Michelin stars upon opening, and has retained them every year since. The restaurant has a reputation as one of Britain’s best restaurants, and has become a must-visit dining experience for gourmands across the world.