Alexis Gauthier

My Journey

"The journey to veganism is personal and not always straightforward. Here, I've tried to outline a few key professional moments which have acted as milestones for my career as a chef in restaurants over the last 25 years, and have helped shape and direct my path to a new, compassionate, sustainable cuisine. Hopefully this can give some background to where we are now and how we got here."

Alexis Gauthier

2022

Alexis speaks about gastronomy without animals at Kind Earth Tech in Amsterdam’s Nemo Science Museum, amongst the world’s leaders in cultivated meat technology.

Gauthier Soho begins a consultancy partnership with the five star Paradise Cove Hotel Mauritius to advise, train chefs and create their vegan menu offering, offering the world’s first super premium vegan menu in a five star hotel group.

Alexis is invited to sit on the William Reed think tank on the plant-based future of the restaurant industry.

2021

  • April 2021 - Gauthier Group opens 123V, a casual cafeteria in Fenwick of Bond Street. Alexis calls it ‘my dream family restaurant, fun, approachable, delicious, where everything is vegan’, The restaurant enjoys great reviews and is named ‘London’s most convincing meat-free burger’ by the Evening Standard.

  • June 2021 - Gauthier Soho reopens as a vegan restaurant.

    Even after the steady build up, there is mixed response, ranging from happy elation, to shock and even anger from some long-standing guests, who claim ‘discrimination’ and refuse to visit the restaurant again. Happily, the majority welcome the ‘bold move’ and the restaurant enjoys a bustling first year.

  • September 2021 - 123V Wins Best Vegan Restaurant at the Harden’s London Restaurant Awards.

  • October 2021 - 123V wins Best Vegan Sushi at the PETA food awards.

2020

In a response to the pandemic, Gauthier Soho releases its cook at home boxes, at first with both meat and vegan boxes. The vegan boxes outsell the regular boxes by 8-1. Gauthier Soho concentrates on vegan boxes alone, focussing on a global menu from a different city every week. The boxes are a big success, keeping the entire brigade of staff employed and refocussing their creativity. At the peak of sales the boxes reach over 500 per week.

2019

  • The vegan menu begins to outsell the regular tasting menu 60/40.

  • Gauthier Soho wins ‘Best Vegan restaurant’ at the Harden’s London Restaurant Awards.

2018

Alexis speaks at the National Restaurant Awards about veganism and the future of food, and announces he hopes to turn his restaurant completely vegan within two years. The announcement is met with shock in the industry.

2016

  • Alexis partners with animal charity PETA and produces a ‘faux gras’ based on plants. A video is produced with the BOSH! Chefs Ian and Henry and receives over 6 million views.

  • Alexis announces he will no longer dedicate any of his team’s creativity into the ‘old world of meat, fish and dairy’, and instead will focus 100% on plant based gastronomy, using the classical French techniques.

2015

Alexis Gauthier announces he has become vegan, citing ‘reading, researching, and generally enlightening myself to the consciousness of the other animals we share this planet with’. A fully vegan tasting menu is introduced and is presented replacing the vegetarian garden menu alongside the regular tasting menu. On minor complaints from the vegetarian crowd he replies friendlily ‘I’m just a small kitchen and try to please everyone, but you either eat animal products or you don’t’.

2014 - Protests

Activists protest against foie gras outside Gauthier Soho, signalling Alexis Gauthier to consider his business practices, and leads to personal reflection of his own attitude and morals towards his relationship with the animal kingdom. Alexis cites this as a turning point and makes no secret of the powerful effect the protests had on him. Alexis makes the decision to remove foie gras completely from his menus.

2012

Alexis Publishes ‘Vegetronic’ - a cookbook focusing on ‘flexitarian’ style low or no meat free recipes where the plants are the star of the dish.

2010

Gauthier Soho opens, offering ‘Mayfair style fine dining in Soho’ and focuses on Alexis’ light, seasonal, plant forward approach to classical French gastronomy. The restaurant wins a Michelin Star.

2000

Roussillon Restaurant wins a Michelin star.

1998

Alexis Gauthier, aged 25, opens Roussillon restaurant in Pimlico, London. The menu, based on light French dishes from the south of France, features London's first vegetarian tasting menu. Roussillon becomes the first restaurant ever to be reviewed by critic Giles Coren, in Tatler magazine.