Born in Nice, Jean-Philippe Blondet has worked alongside world famous chef Alain Ducasse since 2004 when he was a chef de partie at Spoon at Sanderson, Ducasse’s first London restaurant. He returned to his native south of France to work at the three Michelin star Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco before heading east to become sous chef at Ducasse’s Spoon restaurant in Hong Kong. He returned to London in 2013 to join the brigade at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester as sous chef to Jocelyn Herland and was appointed executive chef of the restaurant in January 2016.

Upon Blondet’s appointment, Ducasse commented: “Jean-Philippe Blondet has been working alongside me for 12 years. Sharing the same passion for the Riviera, where he was born, Jean-Philippe has a full understanding of my culinary repertoire and philosophy. I trust him to continue the tradition of excellence that has made the success of my restaurant.”

Blondet retained Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester’s three Michelin star status in 2017, an achievement made all the more impressive given that the restaurant is one of only four in the UK to achieve the guide’s highest rating. Blondet serves his contemporary, refined interpretation of Ducasse’s cuisine in one of the most elegant and luxurious dining rooms in London with its designer taupe leather chairs, walls studded with silk buttons in different shades of green and the semi-private centrepiece: Table Lumière, that’s cloaked by thousands of hanging fibre optic strands.

“I take the very best of French cuisine and ensure each dish has a story behind it, inspired by the season. I like to keep it interesting and create an artistic impression with each dish, establishing a sensory connection with the diner,” Blondet told Good Things magazine. That approach is encapsulated in a dish of roasted halibut served on toasted seaweed bread and finished with a pink onion, roasted oyster, sausage and seaweed relish, the chef’s own favourite.

Blondet creates a dish by starting with a seasonal vegetable (often British produce) and matching other ingredients to it, so that heritage tomatoes are paired with native lobster and green almonds, fava beans accompany a fillet of John Dory and octopus and dry-aged beef is complemented by artichoke and Taggiasca olives.

The Michelin Guide said that Blondet creates ‘visually striking, refined modern dishes’ while Square Meal said that ‘deep flavours, gorgeous sauces and high-end ingredients are delivered with unusual sprightliness’.