Chef Name: Dominique Crenn
Age: 52
Title: Chef / Owner
Awards: Two Michelin Stars (Chef Crenn made history by being the first female chef in the United States to receive these).
Best Female Chef 2016 on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant List.
How old were you when you started cooking professionally? 22.
What’s your earliest and fondest first memory of food?
I was very young, around four years old, in a garden and I popped a small tomato into my mouth. It was a transcendent experience.
Which chefs inspire you most and why?
My mother and my grandmother inspire the idea of cooking in me the most. I find many chefs, and even colleagues, inspiring. I draw my inspiration from everyone.
What are your two favourite cookbooks and why?
I have no favourite cookbook but I love a book called Le Petit Prince. It helps me to think and to create. It is about life and dreaming and inspiration.
Which two ingredients could you not live without?
Love and humanity.
What is your favourite comfort food to cook at home?
Easy! A Gruyère cheese sandwich.
If you could eat at any Michelin star restaurant in the world today, where would it be and why?
There are a lot of different Michelin starred restaurants and so many I would like to visit. I want to discover the soul of the chef and be transported to another place.
And who would you take as your guest?
Someone special to my heart.
What do you look for in a good chef?
Integrity, care, leadership and absolutely no ego.
What advice would you give to chefs starting their career paths now?
You need to know yourself. Have confidence with yourself. You have to be confident, it’s not going to be easy. Always know yourself. And remember, nobody is better than you, and you are not any better than them either.
Chef Dominique Crenn Owner / Chef at Atelier Crenn
Address: 4a 3127 Fillmore Street, San Francisco
Telephone: +1 415 440 0460
Website: www.ateliercrenn.com
Instagram: @dominiquecrenn and @atelier.crenn
Twitter: @dominiquecrenn and @ateliercrenn