It makes a great deal of sense to grow your own food

IF ANYONE can be credited for popularising the idea of a restaurant kitchen garden it’s Raymond Blanc.

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The French chef opened world-famous Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons 41 years ago with expansive grounds - and the concept of garden to plate was born.

Now, with 250 different organic varieties of fruit and veg growing and 27 acres in total, the gardens aren't just crucial for the two-Michelin star Oxfordshire restaurant and hotel, but for him personally too.

“The first thing I do often is to have a lovely walk, try to gather the day together,’ Raymond says. “I go to the Japanese Tea House Garden when I'm really highly stressed.”

“It's the most tranquil and peaceful part of the gardens,” he writes in his latest cookbook, Simply Raymond Kitchen Garden.

“The garden plays a huge role at Le Manoir - and in my life.”

The prolific chef, who has been a mainstay on cooking and food shows during his career, has always championed vegetables. Even when it opened in 1984, Le Manoir had a vegetarian menu, which seemed almost courageous at the time.

“Vegetables can produce the most extra ordinary dishes, which are tasty, which are healthy as well,’ the 75-year-old says.