The story so far…
Alex Mackay is a chef, a cook, a teacher, a writer, and a cooking with kids enthusiast. He is a winner of the Guild of Food Writers Cookery Journalist of the Year and three time nominee. His first book, COOKING IN PROVENCE, won a World Cookbook Award and was short-listed for Best First Book by The Guild of Food Writers. Alex was the Cookery School Director for 3 years at Raymond Blanc’s 2 star Michelin Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. He followed by 6 years at his own cookery school Le Baou d’Infer in Provence which was put in the World’s Top 10 by the Sunday Times and Conde Nast Traveller. This year marks 22 years of Cookery Workshops alongside Delia Smith at Norwich City Football Club.
Alex’s revolutionary cookbook ALEX MACKAY’S COOKBOOK FOR EVERYBODY EVERYDAY won the Best Cookbook award at the New York Book Festival. Next was Alex’s new cookbook THE MAGIC FRIDGE, published by Bloomsbury, the same house that publishes Raymond Blanc, Tom Kerridge, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Heston Blumental.
After starting out at 15 washing dishes and becoming qualified chef at the age of 18, Alex bought a one way ticket to France. He spent nearly three years working in the kitchens of two starred Michelin restaurants in Burgundy, (Crotet) Tours (Bardet) and Courchevel (Jacob). In both Burgundy and Tours he also spent time in the Bistros owned by the Michelin starred restaurateurs. Alex’s next stop was Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons where he was promoted to Sous Chef from Chef de Partie after six months. Following this he went to the 250 cover Four Ways Inn in Bermuda as Executive Sous Chef where, at the age of 23, he was placed second in Bermuda’s Chef of the Year Awards.
Alex spent time in Italy, with stages at Michelin 3 star Restaurants (when he was there in the 90s) Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Dal Pescatore in Canneto Sull’oglio and a full summer with Alfonso Iaccarino at Ristorante Don Alfonso in Sant’agata Sui Due Golfi (promoted to 3 stars while he was there).
After a year in Bermuda, Raymond Blanc personally asked Alex to return to the UK to become the Director of The Cookery School at Le Manoir and Head of Development for Blanc Restaurants Ltd.
In this role Alex was in charge of all the development, publishing and consultancy activities. Alex spent four and a half years in total at Le Manoir working on menu development for projects as varied as in flight dining for Virgin Airlines Upper Class, Raymond Blanc’s books, menu development and recipe development for Waitrose supermarkets. Raymond Blanc asked him to oversee the opening of the original 150 cover Le Petit Blanc Brasserie in Oxford as acting Head Chef; this chain of restaurants since re-named Brasserie Blanc now numbers around 20. During that time he was often back on the pass in Le Manoir kitchen too.
Since leaving Le Manoir to set up Alex Mackay Limited, Alex has won national and international recognition and awards for his Provencal Cookery School, his cookery journalism and his books. Alongside this award winning work, Alex has developed dishes and recipes for home use, for restaurant use, for newspapers, television, books, magazines, for ready meals, for kids, for Delia Online, Merchant Gourmet, Leathams, Marks and Spencer, Innocent, Bol and many more. Alex is fully aware of and involved in most modern techniques as well as more traditional and often more delicious methods. Alex has presented for television the UK, France and New Zealand, and appeared on ITV and regularly on BBC’s Ready Steady Cook.
Alex has taught at renowned cookery schools such as Divertimenti, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, The Women’s Institute at Denman College, The Chef’s Room in Wales and The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath where award winning French baker Richard Bertinet has asked New Zealand born Alex to be their French specialist.
Alex was a patron of The Kids Cookery School from 2006 to 2021. He has cooked over 8000 free meals so far for care home staff, NHS staff and food banks from his little home kitchen.
Alex now works for the Nourish and Flourish Programme at the charity SOFEA. In a culinary circle of care, he rescues surplus food to train people to feed people. Everything he has done in every sort of kitchen imaginable over the last 37 years has led him here.
As always, Alex’s most joyful job is to be the best partner he can to Lucy, and the best father he can to Jake, James and Seb.
Alex and the Perfect Steak
One from the archives!