Sponsored by
Video: Chef Raymond Blanc visits St Gemma's Hospice
He's a Michelin-starred chef with a string of top restaurants, including the critically-acclaimed Brasserie Blanc in Leeds.
* Click here to sign up to free news and sport email alerts from Moortown Today.
But few people know that Raymond Blanc once worked as a nurse in his native France – and the famous chef has gone back to his roots.
* Click here for latest news in Moortown and Alwoodley.
The TV star was a special guest at St Gemma's Hospice in Moortown, where he met head chef Alan Heeley and cooked a gourmet lunch for patients.
* Click here to make Moortown Today your friend on Facebook.
During his visit, Raymond also gave Alan advice on growing herbs in the hospice gardens, while the pair worked together to create a three-course meal.
The 59-year-old, who opened Brasserie Blanc in Leeds in 2007, said: "It's always good to exchange new ideas. I'm in Leeds at the moment and of course, I went to see Brasserie Blanc, but I also wanted to come here to St Gemma's, where people who are very, very ill come to be looked after.
"I'm amazed at the philosophy of the hospice. Not only is there fantastic food thanks to Alan, who looks after 32 patients and thousands of other people over the course of the year, but there's an incredible philosophy of care and creativity."
Raymond, who once worked as a leukaemia nurse in his hometown of Besanon in France, also spent time chatting to patients, staff and trustees of the Moortown hospice, including cancer sufferer Margaret Hutchinson, of Rothwell.
She said: "I was absolutely astonished to meet him. You see people on TV almost every night and when he walked in, he was exactly the same.
"He was a real gentleman and his food was delicious."
Raymond opened his first UK restaurant at the age of 28 and now owns a host of eateries, including the double Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Oxfordshire.
St Gemma's head chef Alan Heeley said: "Working with Raymond was fantastic and definitely one of the highlights of my career.
"It was really good of him to come here. He's an incredible chef and it's an honour to learn from him."
* For more information about the hospice or to make a donation, call (0113) 2185500 or visit: www.st-gemma.co.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page- Web poll: Who is to blame for Leeds United’s league position? VOTE HERE
- Leeds United: Redfearn given extended run at the helm
- Leeds United: Whites ponder next move in hunt for new manager LATEST
- Johnny Giles: Experience vital for Leeds United
- Leeds United: Billy Davies will listen if Whites come calling
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light snow
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
