Although Claude Bosi has a few Michelin stars under his belt, his greatest success has been developing long-term relationships with his guests. The London-based French chef currently runs four restaurants (Claude Bosi at Bibendum, Brooklands, Josephine Bouchon and Socca) but has been part of the British food scene for more than two decades, including his highly regarded restaurant Hibiscus, which closed in 2016.
“When I was on holiday in France with my family, I saw a gentleman with his wife and he said, ‘Are you Claude? I used to come to your restaurant with my dad,’” Bosi told the Observer. “Now that guy is married, has kids and still comes to my restaurant. That’s success. It’s not about how many Michelin stars you have. It’s about being able to do what I do and having different generations come to me.”
Bosi currently divides his attention between a two-Michelin-starred restaurant Close Bosi in Bibendum and car and aviation inspired Brooklandsis located in The Peninsula Hotel recently opened in LondonThe latter received two Michelin stars just months after opening last September and has a similar menu to Bibendum. In March, Bosi and his wife Lucy debuted Josephine Bouchona more intimate place inspired by Bosie’s hometown of Lyon.
The chef is hugely involved in the London restaurant scene, of which he has been a key part since the now-closed Hibiscus moved from Ludlow to the city in 2007. “You have to see what’s happening and where the traffic is,” says Bosi. “It’s about finding inspiration. Seeing what people want in that casual side. London is just amazing right now. The variety of restaurants opening every day is unbelievable. You can’t keep up.”
The Observer recently spoke with Bosi about running multiple restaurants, his commitment to excellent service and his plans for the future.
As a chef owning multiple restaurants, how much time can you actually spend in the kitchen?
I have an amazing team in the kitchen. I don’t chop onions or prepare lamb ribs. But I am very involved in all the food development, food tasting [and] food design. I have a chef and a pastry chef at Claude Bosi in Bibendum. We open for nine services a week and I will be catering for seven of them, and I will also be catering for a couple of services at Brooklands a week. I have a very busy schedule.
That sounds really intense.
Yes, I work six days a week. But I made my bed and I have to sleep in it. It’s my choice. No one forced me to do what I did, and I enjoy it.
Do you still like it?
Now I love it even more. I can cook steak au poivre one day for lunch and duck aspic and caviar for dinner. The variety of choices is incredible. Today, if I feel like bistro, I can go to bistro. If I feel like being at Bibendum, I can be there. My range of duties is so different.
Why was opening a restaurant at the new Peninsula Hotel last year the right choice for you?
It was a dream of many people to have this hotel approach them. I actually contacted them to see if they were looking [a chef] for the hotel. And the funny thing is, the gentleman who was looking for someone for this site was at Bibendum two weeks earlier and we were shortlisted. We were already in line, but I sped up a bit. And they were amazing. I have a lot of friends who work in different hotels and they all say, “Claude, you have the best you could ever wish for.”
When we start talking about Brooklands, the project already made it clear what it is [Peninsula chairman] Mr. Michael [Kadoorie] I wanted to do it. But with me, Bibendum in the Michelin building and classic cars [on display in Brooklands]it was a perfect match. I love cars and anything with a little oil and gas. It was a perfect match.
How surprised were you when Brooklands received two Michelin stars shortly after opening?
Francesco Dibenedetto [chef de cuisine at Brooklands]and I have been working together for over 10 years. He knows me better than anyone. It is very easy when you have someone who has worked with you for so long and we have set our goals together. We were very clear about what we wanted to do. We opened in September but we started working on this menu in April, which is not that long. Opening a restaurant is hard, but I had an amazing team. There were a lot of people who had worked with me before, which makes it a bit easier. We were hoping for one star. Two stars? I know I did it at Bibendum and it went quickly, but we didn’t expect to get to two straight away. Michelin was amazing that they recognized us so quickly. When I spoke to them, they said, “We didn’t give you two stars because we like you. It has nothing to do with that. You did something really special and we appreciated it for what it was.” We were very happy.
How did you translate your cuisine into the more casual restaurant Josephine Bouchon?
Bistro is where I come from. My parents had something like that. It’s what I was born into. My mom was a chef and my dad was on the floor. I would sit by the stove and eat pas de choux. [pastry] every day. It’s something I grew up with, so it was very, very easy. It’s very good home cooking. It’s all about the sauce and the products.
I have an amazing team there. The chef has been with me for four years and could do Brooklands or Bibendum. [At Josephine Boucon] there’s no sous vide machine; there’s no water bath. It has proper pans with lots of butter and dairy. Usually when you open a kitchen, you quickly lose 20 to 25 percent of your staff because it’s so chaotic. But we haven’t lost anyone.
Why did you choose Chelsea as the setting?
I wanted it to be a neighborhood bistro with a French feel. A friend of mine who had a plot of land came to me and suggested the plot. I went to Chelsea and thought it was a little too close to home, but the plot was perfect. It was exactly what I was looking for—a corner plot. I want to do another in Marylebone. Chelsea is like a Lyonnais defender. Marylebone will be more like a Parisian bouchon — the original bouchon from Paris, which is more focused on seafood.
Are you still wondering how you can grow your restaurant?
Not always. If there’s a good opportunity and a good site, I’ll definitely do another one. It’s not something where I wake up in the morning and say, “What’s next?” Because everything is still really new at the bistro. We have a good team there, but I want to make sure that I’m consistent and that the service is good. You have to keep working at it. But I never close my mind to the next opportunity.
Do you already know what great service means?
For me, great service is when people walk in the door and you greet them like you would someone at home. That’s important. How would you introduce people to your home? Would you be rude to them? Would you be helpful to them? You can never take the customer for granted. What sets us apart from anyone else, because there are some amazing places in London, is the quality of service. Sad to say, but the food comes second. We want to make sure we can give them a good time. When they walk in the door, we try to make them forget what’s outside. That’s how I see it. Is that the right recipe? I’m not sure. But I’ve been doing it for 25 years and I’m still standing.
Do you think the idea of British food has changed over the years?
British food is still at the point of, “What is British food?” There is definitely British gastronomy. But there is no British food like Italian, Indian or French. They have the DNA of cooking here, but it’s not like the rest of Europe. I started in Shropshire, in Ludlow, where there were 8,000 people and the food scene was a disaster. The produce was amazing where we were, but if you wanted a proper meal you had to drive 30 or 45 minutes out of Ludlow. Now you can go to the middle of nowhere and you have great food. That’s what Britain has done. And Britain will build something like France or Italy because they have the produce, but it will take a long time.
Why have so many things changed?
Many young chefs have travelled around Europe and the world learning to cook, learning about produce, learning to respect the seasons, and then coming back home to do it here.
What was the last good meal you ate?
Ledbury. It was amazing. I hadn’t been there since they reopened after Covid and they did an amazing job.
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