Alain Roux Calls On Hospitality To Help Raise Awareness Of Disease That Claimed His Father Michel And Help Put Pulmonary Fibrosis On The Map
Celebrated chef and Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust Patron Alain Roux is calling on the hospitality industry to get behind an extraordinary 900-mile endurance challenge and help raise awareness and funds for the incurable lung disease that claimed the life of his father, legendary chef Michel Roux OBE.
Throughout Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month this September, the Trust is asking hospitality businesses to support its Every Breath is Precious campaign by sharing Alain’s video and the campaign with their teams, customers and professional networks, fundraising or taking on a challenge of their own.
At the centre of the campaign is Professor Nick Ashill, 62, who is currently running more than 900 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End, averaging around 40 miles a day and aiming to raise £100,000 for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust.
Like Alain, Nick’s motivation is personal. He lost his mother to pulmonary fibrosis.
Nick said, “I can run because my lungs allow me to. For someone living with pulmonary fibrosis, simply breathing can become the challenge. I’ll be running around 40 miles every day, but there are people with PF who struggle to walk from one room to another. That contrast is what Every Breath is Precious is all about.”
His challenge is even more remarkable following a near-fatal accident in 2017, when Nick was struck by a vehicle travelling at around 60mph while attempting to run across America. He underwent 16 operations and was warned he might never run again. He returned to complete the American run in 2022 before running approximately 2,500 miles across Australia in 2024.
Alain’s involvement is equally personal. His father Michel, co-founder of Le Gavroche and one of the most influential figures in British gastronomy, died aged 78 in 2020 after living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Alain has recorded a video appeal asking the industry his father helped shape to support the campaign and help make the disease better understood.
An estimated 70,000 people are living with pulmonary fibrosis in the UK, with more than 6,000 deaths each year. The disease causes irreversible scarring of the lungs, making breathing increasingly difficult. There is currently no cure, although treatments can slow the progression of some forms. As breathlessness increases, independence, work and social lives can all be affected. Peter Bryce, Chairman of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust and himself living with the condition, said, “Alain knows only too well the devastating impact pulmonary fibrosis can have on an individual and their family. Michel Roux made an extraordinary contribution to British hospitality and Alain’s support gives us an opportunity to ask the industry he helped shape to get behind the campaign and help make this disease better understood.”
Hospitality is already playing a part. Pubs and businesses along Nick’s route have provided accommodation, places for the campaign motorhome to park and a warm welcome after another gruelling day on the road. Peter added, “The support we’ve received along Nick’s route has been fantastic. It demonstrates what hospitality does so well, looking after people and bringing communities together. Now we’d love the wider industry to join us.”
The Trust is asking hospitality businesses to share Alain’s video and Nick’s story, talk about pulmonary fibrosis with teams and customers, fundraise, donate or ‘make their move’ by walking, running, cycling, swimming or taking on a challenge of their own. Funds raised help the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust provide practical and emotional support to people living with PF and their families, including equipment and home adaptations, as well as supporting awareness and research.
Across hospitality communities there will be people living with the disease, caring for someone or mourning someone they have lost. This September, hospitality can help make pulmonary fibrosis better understood. Every breath is precious.
Watch and share Alain Roux’s message: https://shorturl.at/f1PDV
Find out more or Make Your Move: Every Breath is Precious