As world-renowned chef Albert Roux opens his latest venture in East Lothian he talks about food, love and Britain

• Albert Roux opens his restaurant Chez Roux at Greywalls Hotel in Gullane

"Years ago I cooked a meal for my family. It was the most beautiful homemade chips cooked in beef juices and steak, and every mouthful was a pleasure," he recalls.

"So when my wife told me she could smell smoke, I wasn't really bothered. She came through screaming that the kitchen was on fire – turned out I'd left the hob on near the beef dripping – but I was not leaving a plate of steak and chips that delicious. You always need a good meal.

"The kitchen was ablaze, but I was still finishing up when the fire brigade arrived.

"It is all good knowing how to cook a good meal – you must know how to eat a good meal too."

The blackened kitchen – far more well done than his food ever is – cost him "a blooming fortune" in repairs, but Roux is a man who would never jeopardise a dinner.

His perfectionist and unbudgeable attitude is one that has paid off.

Today, he runs several restaurants around the world. He has trained some of the greatest and best-known chefs, including Martin Wishart and Gordon Ramsay, and was the first person to be awarded a Michelin Star in the UK after founding London restaurant Le Gavroche.

Since opening the restaurant with his brother, chef Michel Roux, in 1967, he has cooked for the finest palates across the land.

He has also headed the kitchen at Lady Astor's home and cooked for the Royal Family more times than he can remember.

Last month, Roux opened a restaurant at the Inver Lodge Hotel, in Lochinver, and a couple of weeks ago, East Lothian was introduced to its first taste of his world-class French cuisine when he unveiled Chez Roux at the Greywalls Hotel, Gullane.

To coincide with the opening, the hotel – previously only available for private groups to hire – introduced 23 refurbished rooms for public bookings.

For Roux, these new restaurants are something he has been working towards for years. A regular visitor to the Highlands –"especially to sample the marvellous whisky and the cheeses" – he is adamant the eateries will further his desire to be an honorary Brit.

"Truth be told, I hate the French. I am more at home in England, or in Scotland, and I have been in Britain since I was 13.

"The French can be so arrogant and do not share the attitude I share. They can be very snobby about food, very proper. I am not like that. I enjoy red wine with my fish, and I like my steak medium-rare, not 'blue', like they say French people should. People should eat what they enjoy, not what they feel is expected of them.

"I am also not a republican, I am a royalist at heart and always enjoyed cooking for the Queen Mum. I feel I am British in everything but passport."

Despite this, there is one instance where he accepts he is very, very French – with a cheeky wink and a smile, he declares he is a notorious Lothario, believing it is not fine oysters or champagne that attracts the opposite sex, but his smooth and flirtatious chatter.

"I love all the ladies, I am such a womaniser," he grins. "I think to witness a day without a woman smiling is like a day without sun.

"I remember the times when I had six women on the go at once – just one day off every week.

"I would wine, dine and court them, although some were incredibly difficult.

"I recall having to buy one lovely lady 24 long-stemmed roses every day for two months solid – and even after that I only got a little kiss. It probably wasn't worth it."

Those days are now gone though: "I have found love for a second time and am happily married. My wife is a very different lady to others I have been with. She is very independent, runs her own property business, and I like her independence and feisty nature. It is the first time in my life I have been with somebody like that.

"She is a bit younger than me, so people always say I got myself a dolly bird and she got herself a sugar daddy, but we are very much in love. I do not miss the woman games."

Perhaps it is settling down with his wife that has made Roux happy to live a quiet countryside life.

True to his nature though, he has grand plans to push the Greywalls restaurant to the forefront of foodies around the Capital. He also intends to be on the scene as much as possible, but when he is away, it will be left in the hands of previous MasterChef winner Derek Johnstone, from Renfrewshire.

This week, Roux suffered a blow when his restaurant in the five-star Rocpool Reserve Hotel, in Inverness, was criticised by health inspectors.

He says he has investigated and remedied this, and now he intends to make Greywalls his most successful businesses yet.

"I didn't find these new restaurants, they found me when I was on my travels, and I fell in love with them.

"You can't help falling in love with Greywalls – the gardens, the golf club, they are utterly magical for a romantic like me. I first visited when the gardens were in bloom and I could see I would get a lot of herbs and vegetables from the land.

"It is not just the fabulous place that gets me. When you do business with people and you want to be successful you must feel a rapport with them, and that's what I felt with the owners of Greywalls.

"Five minutes after meeting them, I knew we could work together. I may not be looking for love anymore, but I see this venture as a beautiful relationship."