Our History
The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts was established in 1980 as part of the Académie Culinaire de France, whose origins go back as far as 1883.
Marie-Antoine Carême
Marie-Antoine Carême
Carême was known as "the king of chefs and the chef of kings". "Gastronomes and food writers have praised him as a great genius of haute cuisine", and have held him up as "an outstanding example of how a lowly apprentice, of a humble background, could rise to the topmost pinnacle of his profession"
Learn more about him on Wikipedia
Marie-Antoine Carême, is considered to be the godfather of culinary arts. Our highest accolade that we award the Master of Culinary Arts, features his face as its emblem and our Fellows are awarded a certificate with his bust featuring in the background. Marie-Antoine Carême is our symbolic figurehead. The legacy that he created in the culinary world represents the pinnacle of excellence and mastery that your academy strives to achieve and honor.
Master of Culinary Arts
Lapel Pin
Master of Culinary Arts
Medal
The origins of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts lie in the Académie Culinaire de France, an organisation founded in 1883 by Joseph Favre, a French chemist. The remit of the Académie Culinaire de France was to collect and catalogue all the classical recipes – as the Académie Française does with literature and language.
The genesis of the British branch of the Académie was the Club 9, a group of highly regarded Chefs des Cuisines who met monthly to mull over the culinary business of the day. They were Michel Bourdin, Albert Roux, John Huber, Anton Mosimann, Guy Mouilleron, Peter Kromberg, Richard Shepherd, Uwe Zander and Felix Muntwyler.
Befitting the organisation, the Académie Culinaire de France Filiale de Grande Bretagne was launched as a Friendly Society with a momentous dinner at The Connaught on 6th December 1980, (pictured above) with Michel Bourdin as Founder President and Albert Roux as his Vice President. Sir Hugh Wontner, the Savoy’s iconic Chairman, and Paolo Zago, the Connaught’s now legendary GM, were the Academy’s first Honorary Members.
The 25 Founder Members were
Jean Bellavita - Michel Bourdin - Brian Cotterill - Martin Davies - Joël Défaut
André Durand - Bernard Gaume - Professor John Huber - Eugene Käufeler - Peter Kromberg
Emile Léfèbvre - Gilbert Lefèvre - Henri Lullier - Oswald Mair - Julien Martell
Anton Mosimann - Guy Mouilleron - Christian Moury - Georges Piotet - Albert Roux OBE
Richard Shepherd CBE - D Toinard - Jacques Viney - Louis Virot - Uwe Zander
Honorary Founder Members: Martin Skan, Paolo Zago and Sir Hugh Wontner
40th Anniversary of the Roux Scholarship
John Williams, President of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts tribute to Albert and Michel Roux. Given at the 40th anniversary of the Roux Scholarship. The brothers were founders of the Royal Academy and John paid homage to their culinary prowess, their respect in the industry and the power of the Roux Scholarship in developing culinary talent.
Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Obituaries
Albert Roux,
Founding Member, Club 9
You can read Albert’s ilustrious career here in his obituary:
Albert was a champion and founding member of the orginal Club 9 which later became the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. Albert played a key role in professionalising the Royal Academy and its Adopt a School programme, a national charity delivering food education in schools.
Speaking to The Caterer in 2017, he said: "It never fails to bring tears to my eyes looking at the kids, just seven or eight years old. They are so proud, wearing their chefs' hats and aprons, shoulders up, showing their parents what they can do.
Sara Jayne Stanes,
CEO,
Royal Academy of Culinary Arts 1990-2021.
Sara’s obituary:
Brian Turner CBE, who worked alongside Stanes as president of the RACA, said: "Sara was the powerful engine room of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts with its ideals and missions always in the front of her mind. Sara loved the hospitality industry and deserves her place in the history of the Academy and industry as a whole.
"Her knowledge and appreciation of food, service, wine and chocolate was second to none and her desire to see that this was passed on to future generations through Adopt a School and the Academy's apprenticeships scheme was something to be seen.
Richard Shepherd,
Honorary President,
Royal Academy of Culinary Arts
Richard’s Obituary
Shepherd was a member of the hugely influential Club 9 of trailblazing chefs in late 1970s London, and he later co-founded the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and was its honorary president.
“It is with great sadness that we heard that the great Michel Bourdin sadly passed away. Michel was a founder of the Academy of Culinary Arts and instrumental in pursuing our royal title of which we are so proud. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Michel Bourdin’s Obituary
Michel Bourdin,
Founding Member,
Club 9
John Williams MBE, executive chef at the Ritz London, told The Caterer: "I knew Ramon, or Mr Pajares as I would always call him, as a humble man. He really could speak to anyone and when he was operational there was nobody like him.
"When I worked for him at the Savoy Group I was fascinated by this man that was so forward thinking. He was probably one of the first to look at chefs and allow them to be their own patrons in a hotel.
Ramon Pajares Obituary
Ramon Pajares,
Fellow,
Royal Academy of Culinary Arts
Before retiring from hospitality in 2016, Bauer was chairman of AB hotels. In a glittering career he was general manager of London’s Hyde Park hotel and the Savoy. He was awarded an OBE in 2011.
He was a staunch supporter of charities and among other notable efforts, he co-founded the Ark Foundation, which provides help to those in the hospitality industry who become reliant on drink or drugs. Bauer had also been a governor of the Academy of Culinary Arts, the Edge Hotel School, and was involved in the Chefs ‘Adopt a School’ scheme.
Willy Bauer’s Obituary