'Not what we expected from you': Emily Roux on not making a profit and a tough conversation with a table of six

Every month, we interview top chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks, views on the industry and more.​​​​​​​ This time, we speak to Michelin-starred Emily Roux, the chef and co-owner of Caractere and daughter of Michel Roux.

The biggest pressures facing the hospitality industry are... increases to business rates and the minimum wage. Our margins were fine - as in on a fine line - beforehand, and now the question is: are we going to make a profit? Probably not. We were doing calculations with Diego, my husband, on the wage increases and I don't know how we're going to cover those costs. We're adding £5 to both our tasting and a la carte menus, which won't cover the costs.

Diners are now super mindful on how many times they go out, me included... My husband and I only go to a restaurant, or with some close friends, every three to four months, which is really sad. We used to go out every week. I've had two kids in between, so that may also have a little impact, but I think we have all changed how we go out and we're being very careful where we spend our money.

There was a time when fine dining was at its absolute peak... and we were loving tasting menus and discovering intricate foods that maybe you didn't recognise, but you were intrigued by. And you would stay at a table for four hours. I think that has now completely changed. It's faster-paced and it's about home-comforting foods that don't break the bank.

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But I don't think fine dining will die out... I firmly believe we will be back into it at some point, but that may be in five years. I think it's really tricky for fine dining restaurants right now. Not everyone has the money to spend or the time, and some people don't want to get dressed up either.

Cost pressures mean we think about things 10 times before putting them on the menu... We cost it over and over. It's the same with electrics and gas - as soon as we're no longer locked in a contract, I will spend hours trying to find the best solution out there, which is something I didn't spend as much time on before.

One thing our industry would benefit from would be... some sort of VAT cut. It's the only thing I think that would make a difference to small independent restaurants all over the UK.

I don't think people realise... that I'm here from 8.30am even though I'm not open for lunch. Food doesn't magically prepare itself. So my husband and I are here early to prep for the dinner service. Our team arrives later in the day. When you're at a fine dining level, it takes hours to prep vegetables, fruits, desserts etc.

One of the ingredients that has become particularly expensive is... butter. It has quadrupled since we opened in 2018. Oil is the same. And we use it for the fryers, so we use big quantities. It's our day-to-day stuff. We can't manoeuvre too much on quality. You can't get around it.

Getting a Michelin star has been incredibly positive... it's definitely put us on a map for certain foodie tourists. Do I think it's life-changing in terms of bums on seats? No, but I think the stamp of approval and quality that we now represent enables us to build the brand further. It offers more possibilities outside the restaurant, which is definitely what we need.

The most memorable person I've cooked for is... very recently Gordon Ramsay, which was really nice for all the team to meet him and get a picture with him. I just love getting people through the doors in general, but he's a lovely guy, he's an amazing chef and businessman, and it was a proud moment for all the team and everyone to have him here. He is a busy man.

Being a mum... it's always a juggle. I don't have one week that looks the same during the year. We figure it out as we go along. We're very lucky to have my family who live close by, so they help us out. We've got an array of babysitters. School holidays are very tricky for us, but we've not known anything else. We had the restaurant before the kids so we've always had to deal with both simultaneously. There are days when I wish I were at home, but I'm at work, and vice versa.

At the beginning, people came to the restaurant with a different expectation because of my name... It was really tricky to get people to try and understand that this was never going to be Gavroche. It never will be. The regular customers who have been coming here since we opened very much know what they're getting. I think a lot of customers from Gavroche who do come here are very happy with the different dynamic. But some people also haven't got a clue. They've seen our restaurant in the Michelin Guide or they've seen the restaurant on the Apple TV show and they haven't got a clue at all as to who my family are, which is great as well. So I think now we're in a sweet spot.

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When we opened in 2018, I remember vividly having quite a difficult conversation... It was a table of six and they literally said: "This is not what we expected from you. We go to Gavroche very regularly. This is underwhelming." We'd been open for three weeks and it was not the kind of words you want to hear. All of this was very amicable, we chatted for about 15 minutes and I gave them my point of view about all of it. In any case, we'll always get critiques. We'd love to please absolutely everyone. That is the dream. But that can't always happen. You know, we don't all have the same taste buds... and that's okay. I love a great conversation, even if it's a hard conversation. But if you tell me how to run my business and how to cook a piece of fish, it can be a little frustrating.

If a customer does want to complain, they should do it... face-to-face and talk to me on the night. If you email me five days later, I'm thinking "why didn't you tell me on the evening?" Sometimes you can rectify these things immediately or you can offer something to try and appease the situation directly on the night. I would much prefer to have a conversation that evening, get to the bottom things, have it done. It's just being honest as well, in my opinion.

Complaints that come later can be a bit fishy... Sometimes, if you do a bit of digging and you call some friends, you find they did the same thing two or three days ago in another restaurant. So I think some people just want a freebie.

I've always been a pretty stubborn, independent person... there are so many things that would have made taking over the family business really tricky for me. Obviously, the customers would have been a big one. I feel like I would probably disappoint a lot of customers if I changed anything at Gavroche. And if I lose the customers, then that's the backbone of the business. Then all the staff, some of the staff I grew up with. It couldn't work. Then obviously my husband worked there as head chef for a few years, so how would that dynamic work, being in a restaurant that has such heritage, but my family heritage? How would he ever feel in his home? It's all of those things.

I've got comments about being a nepo baby all my life... I'm pretty sure most people who don't know me, haven't worked with me and see me from afar probably think I am never here or have never worked a day in my life, and I've just got to terms with that. Growing up, it was something I knew was surrounding me and there was that sort of pressure on the shoulders. I did 18-hour days for so many years. Today I couldn't care less what people may think from afar. I know how much I've worked and I know how much I try and give back to every member of staff who has worked with us. And I think they would be the best people to advocate for who I am and what I do day to day.

My family have always done a lot for hospitality... they have always tried to uplift young chefs. The Roux Scholarship is definitely something that promotes young professional chefs and really puts them out there. I think each member of the family have really done whatever they could to help the industry and make it better. Hopefully, I can grow on that and build that.

The industry is really tough for aspiring chefs... but it's a lot better to be a young chef now than 20 years ago. But owning your restaurant shouldn't necessarily be the dream - you need a lot of money. We have an enormous loan and we've still got a lot to pay back, so it's a gamble on how the economy will be in a few years. I don't know if I would encourage a youngster to do that today. I think you can see beautiful things in restaurants and get to really high levels in amazing places without owning your own business. Whereas I definitely would have encouraged anyone to do that 15 years ago.

The store cupboard ingredient that gives you the biggest flavour for money pay-off is... a chilli garlic crispy oil. You can have it for breakfast with avocado on toast or eggs, it goes with dim sum, in salads as a vinaigrette. It can go absolutely anywhere at any time of the day and embellish anything.

I recently opened an Ocado account and I've discovered they've got Picard... Picard is French frozen food. I bought some wild blueberries and they're properly delicious. You open the bag, frozen, and you get wafts of these wild berries. It's a great quality product. I did a really simple puff pastry tart for my boys and the rest I did like a compote type thing. I just added a bit of sugar, a bit of lemon juice and that was it. We've been eating it the past week on yoghurts, toast. Stunning.

A cheap recipe I'm enjoying at the moment is... an Instagram thing that is essentially a dim sum mix. So it's minced pork with garlic, ginger, spring onions, soy sauce, all of that, put into little balls into a pan and then with wonton wrappers on top. I did that last week. Huge hit.

My favourite place for a cheap meal is... C&R Cafe on Rupert Court in London's Soho. It's Malaysian and is cheap and cheerful. You get a decent-sized plate of noodles and a soybean milk on the side for under £20. It's perfect.

(c) Sky News 2026: 'Not what we expected from you': Emily Roux on not making a profit and a tough co