Executive head chef Roland Depit is preparing to retire from his post at Christ Church after 29 years. Those who have worked with him for almost three decades wish him well. Over the years he and his colleagues have proved an indomitable team, having cooked for royalty, celebrities, Prime Ministers, dons and students.

Peter Lyon has worked alongside Roland as assistant head chef for 25 years and Jonathan Lee, who entered Roland’s kitchens when he was just 17, has graduated to the grand position of sous chef, having worked under Roland’s guidance for 19 years. They both admit they will miss him a great deal.

Roland says that it is the atmosphere in which they work, the way the college looks after its staff and the beautiful environment that keeps teams like his together.

Having undertaken four years’ training in South East France, the land of his birth, and been hailed the third best trainee out of a group of 60 working for their professional chef certificate, Roland headed for England in 1965 to gain further experience. He took on his first job as head chef in Herefordshire when he was just 24. It was his father who persuaded him to become a chef.

“I was the oldest of nine children, and so it fell on me to help my mother prepare meals for us all. She was a superb cook, able to make really tasty meals out of simple fresh ingredients.”

Like Oxford’s celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, Roland admits that those early years helping his mother feed their large family influenced the way he has cooked throughout his career. Although he had no idea that he would remain at Christ Church for so long when he first walked into Tom Quad and surveyed the architecture, he certainly knew he was in a special place.

Those early days weren’t easy though. He soon learned that when telling others where he worked, he should describe Christ Church as ‘The House’ and never say ‘Christ Church College’. As to the job itself, well he found that difficult too during those early days.

“No one really explained what the job was, it was all very vague. I felt I had walked into a canteen, because the food that we served in those early days was very different from the food we serve today. The equipment was prehistoric,” he added.

Now Roland and his kitchen brigade of 20 not only cook for students and dons, but also cater for conferences, vacation bookings, and a host of special events. The number of meals produced annually in his kitchen has doubled to more than 200,000. He is proud of the fact that the food he serves embraces modern trends and diets. Vegetarian dishes, and meals for those requiring gluten-free food, or Halal dishes are served daily. He caters for vegans too.

Simple dishes, such as mashed potatoes are enhanced with herbs, mustards and other vegetables, and Mediterranean dishes such as Moroccan lamb or hummus with ciabatta bread appear on the student menu often. Students are invited to discuss the menu and come up with ideas for meals.

The kitchens that Roland walked into 29 years ago date back to 1524, when Cardinal Wolsey began establishing Christ Church. Naturally the college’s vast kitchen was his starting point, as those working on this amazing building project had to be fed.

The kitchen Roland inherited changed little over the centuries, but in 1992 there were major alterations. The kitchen is now equipped with stainless steel ovens and state-of-the-art equipment.

While the kitchen still retains the old fireplace, which once housed heavy rotating spits on which whole carcasses were roasted, everything is now cooked in stainless steel ovens. The large fireplace (see above) now acts as a store for many of highly polished copper pots and pans. The ovens in the sides of the fireplace are no longer used either.

Only the shells of great West Indian green sea turtles hanging either side of the old fireplace act as reminders of days gone by. They are forgotten relics of the ostentatious dining of the 18th century, when turtle soup was a popular dish.

It was college steward John Harris, who has been at Christ Church almost as long as Roland, who helped instigate plans for a new kitchen. Roland admits to having built up a great rapport with John over the years. John says Christ Church owes Roland a great deal, as he has worked stoically and with respect for college traditions.

“Together over the years we have seen a great increase in the demand for catering services. One of the things that has been so impressive is Roland’s emphasis on developing the skills and careers of young chefs who have trained under him. Many have now gone on to take over college kitchens throughout Oxford.”

When Roland was asked if he thought he would be missed, he smiled. “Christ Church kitchen has been here more than 500 years, and will go on for another 500 years – my 29 years are just a blip in the sum total of things.”

Roland, who is planning an exciting retirement by travelling to New Zealand and Canada, hands over the reins to the talented award-winning chef Chris Simms from Trinity College. Roland said: “The kitchen couldn’t be in more capable hands.”