The legacy of the River Cafe: the lasting influence of one of Britain's best-loved restaurants

"When we hire people," says River Cafe Executive Chef Joe Trivelli, "I think, 'Are they going to be good and stay long?' I don't think what they will do next.The restaurant, which turns 35 next month, is not, underlines its other executive chef, Sian Wyn Owen, a "chic cooking school". p>

The kitchen at River Cafe needs team players willing to work hard while absorbing knowledge, not chefs in a hurry to tick a box on their resume and move on to their own roles as a chef."Often this desire to be important outweighs the desire to learn," says Wyn Owen.

Famous for its Italian cuisine Rigorously seasonal, the restaurant is also recognized as an incubator of influential talent.Founders Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers have fostered the development of Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Theo Randall, Stevie Parle and Sam and Sam Clark de Moro, creating a line now in its second or third generation. Today it's Tomos Parry of Brat, Max Rocha of Café Ceci lia or Yohei Furuhashi of Toklas who carry elements of his philosophy out into the world.

This conveyor belt of talent can best be described as an unforeseen by-product of the Gray environment , who died in 2010, and Rogers, still very much in charge, created together. The kitchen currently has a gender split of approximately 50:50, and each week the chefs work four single shifts (9am to 5pm or 3pm to 11pm) and at most one double shift. Wyn Owen is trying to stamp out double shifts because they're "the worst thing about hospitality". Working parents benefit from flexible hours and the 150 employees can apply for Rose Gray Foundation scholarships for their personal and professional development. These have been used for learning languages, researching cookbooks, or taking deli courses.

Wyn Owen is wary of portraying the River Cafe as a "sickly happy family", saying "it's a stressful work environment, meeting two non-negotiable deadlines a day - lunch and dinner.” In summer, the kitchen can seat 200 on a Monday lunchtime, but its chefs tend to stay for several years. Wyn Owen, 50, and Trivelli, 48, have been there for more than 20 years. Stick around long enough, says Wyn Owen, and "by osmosis, in real time," the chefs learn to "cook properly."

Trivelli and Wyn Owen are disappointed when, instead of staying in restaurants, talented graduates leave the industry, often to become private chefs. "It's sad that they disappeared into someone's house to make scrambled eggs," says Wyn Owen. "We'...