After 40 years of male domination in the kitchens of Le Gavroche in London, former sous-chef Rachel Humphrey has finally broken through to be crowned the restaurant's first female Head Chef. The chef patron at Le Gavroche, Michel Roux Jnr praised his protegée's excellent understanding of French cuisine, plus her ability to lead the kitchen and maintain its high standards of culinary excellence.

Humphrey has worked under the guidance of Michel Roux since 1996 when she joined his brigade as an apprentice, moving up through the ranks to commis chef, chef de partie, sous chef and finally head chef.

A special student
Michel Roux made it clear that Rachel was a diamond in the rough, "Rachel is an integral part of Le Gavroche, an essential cog in the machine. I've trained up a lot of girls in my kitchen and I've always thought it would be wonderful one day for us to have a Michelin-starred restaurant with a female head chef."

Apparently a very shy, timid girl to start off with, Rachel left Le Gavroche in 2000 to spend three years serving as a chef in the Royal Airforce. This time away apparently gave her the confidence she needed to assume her position in the kitchen on her return in 2003. Under head chef Nicholas Lariden, she was soon promoted to sous chef. Lariden is planning on opening a new restaurant, Le Bouchon Breton in London's Spitalfield's in April 2009.

40 Years of Le Gavroche
This year Le Gavroche is celebrating its fortieth birthday and with it, the success of having achieved two Michelin stars and retaining its popularity and class. Although it has been criticised for being old-fashioned in a town where all the Michelin starred restaurants are now modern, fresh and light, Le Gavroche has stuck to its style of timeless charm and elegance.

Roux Scholarship
Michel Roux and his father Albert have also contributed greatly to the futures of up-and-coming chefs in the UK, as they established the Roux Scholarship in 1985, which gives talented young chefs an opportunity to vye for positions either at Le Gavroche or other Michelin-starred restaurants in Britain. For more information visit www.rouxscholarship.co.uk

Meanwhile, Rachel is quiet obviously delighted about her promotion and remains humble and thankful to those who tutored her: "Le Gavroche is an institution and I feel privileged to take on the responsibility of head chef at such an iconic establishment. Continuing to learn from Michel Roux Jr while working with such an experienced team, both in the kitchen and front of house, make this an unbelievable opportunity."