1971-onwards - Wandsworth Road (Lambeth)
Chef Silvano Giraldin was born in Padua in 1948. He started his career by enrolling in a catering college in Abano Terme, he trained in hotels in Venice and at Nice’s grand hotel Negresco. He moved to London in 1971. Living in lodgings at Wandsworth Road, he joined Michel and Albert Roux’s Le Gavroche on Lower Sloane Street, Chelsea, as a commis waiter. In 1974, it became the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Britain. Girardin became general manager in 1975 and oversaw the restaurant’s move to Upper Brook Street, Mayfair. Further Michelin stars followed in 1977 and 1982. Giraldin retired in August 2008.
