Chef Paul Gayler
Paul Gayler, MBE, is the Executive Chef at The Lanesborough Hotel London since 1991. As well as being recognised as one of the country’s culinary masters, he is also an accomplished food writer with twenty-one titles to his name and a regular contributor to a host of popular food television programmes.
Gayler’s love of food and cooking began when he was a boy, helping out his mother with the family-run catering business. At the age of 16 he attended a local catering school where he excelled and went on to hone his skills in some of the best kitchens in Britain and France.
In 1982, Paul was appointed head chef at London’s Inigo Jones where he revolutionised the menu of this esteemed establishment. It was there that he pioneered “Vegetarian Haute Cuisine”. Frustrated by the lacklustre offering of many of his contemporaries, he introduced the ‘Menu Potager’: a spectacular seven course gourmet vegetarian menu that was critically acclaimed.
Gayler has received a number of prestigious accolades including twice winning the Mouton Cadet competition and is a two-time finalist of the Prix Culinaire International Pierre Taittinger. He was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the hospitality industry and charities. In November 2012, Gayler was also awarded the prestigious “Outstanding contribution to the hotel industry award’’ at the Hotel Cateys.
Despite an extremely demanding work schedule, Gayler has devoted a huge amount of time to the charitable causes that he supports. He helped to establish ‘The Emily Begg Fund’, an organization that raises money for The Teenage Cancer Trust, in remembrance of a family friend that died from leukaemia. Gayler’s son’s injury while on active service in Afghanistan galvanized him to assemble his own battalion of skilled and famous ‘Chefs For Heroes’ who cater for numerous fundraising events in support of wounded Armed Forces personnel.
Gayler is a towering figure in the British food industry, revered as much for his extraordinary culinary talents as for his generous dedication to charitable causes.
