Chef Emmanuel Roux has been involved with creating, making and enjoying delicious food throughout his life.
He was born and raised in Tunisia on a farm very rich in history. It was built over a Roman villa and was also the site of a major battlefield during the second World War.
His parents, French expatriates, owned the farm. In 1961, the Roux family moved back to France. He studied in France, in England and more specifically hotel management in Switzerland. He sailed the world while serving in the French Navy on the famed helicopter carrier Jeanne d’Arc. Roux also worked for an American oil research company in desolate parts of the Sahara in Algeria, Niger, and Mali in Africa.
In 1975 Roux moved to New York as general manager of the Lotos Club – an exclusive arts and literature private club, one of the oldest in Manhattan. In 1979 he moved to Savannah, Georgia where he founded Gaston Dupre Inc., the first high-end flavored gourmet pasta company.
Since 1993, Emmanuel Roux has owned several restaurants in St Petersburg, Florida. It was in these restaurants where he refined his version of the classic French flour-less chocolate cake. After numerous requests from his regulars and friends, Emmanuel began selling his cake directly to chocolate lovers.
Food has been a life-passion, and he has an extensive knowledge of agriculture, food production, distribution and cooking and enjoying the fruit of his labors. He particularly enjoys entertaining and sharing a good glass of wine with new and old friends. You can read some of his blog postings on this site.
Emmanuel spends his free time cultivating two organic community gardens which he was instrumental in developing and where he is raising small flocks of urban chickens. He is a vocal advocate of permaculture and urban agriculture. He also serves on the board of the Tampa Bay Slow Food chapter. He continues to live in St. Petersburg with his wife Jennifer. Both, appropriately, care for a chocolate lab named Max.
The Gateau O Chocolat cake tastes so good that you’ll melt into a puddle. I brought a whole cake to my dentists’ office because my hygienist says she loves chocolate. I have just now told several friends how good it is and that they can get it at Rollin Oats. They’ll be asking for it next time they go there.