Dominique Crenn is the latest chef to join the closed circle of women named World’s Best Female Chef, it was announced on April 27.
The French chef, now based in San Francisco, was crowned with the title ahead of the June unveiling of the 2016 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. For the sixth consecutive year, the World’s 50 Best Awards have crowned the finest female talent in the world of high-end cuisine.
Already won previously by two French chefs – Helene Darroze and Anne-Sophie Pic – this honorary prize adds another French name to its list of winners.
Dominique Crenn grew up in the Paris area, but has strong links with her roots in France’s coastal Brittany region. She built her reputation – and honed her cuisine – in San Francisco, USA. In 2011, she opened Atelier Crenn, which was soon crowned with two Michelin stars.
In this gastronomic restaurant, the chef gives pride of place to produce from the Bay Area and presents dishes like works of art, mirroring the paintings of her artistic father.
She brings a poetic slant to her cuisine, describing it as “poetic culinaria”. The menu, for example, is presented as a poem, taking diners strolling on the beach and walking in the woods. She also serves a Breton take on the classic Kir cocktail in a nod to her roots.
Her talent extends to a second restaurant with a more laid-back vibe, called Petit Crenn.
Dominique Crenn started her career as a chef in the USA working under Jeremiah Tower and Mark Franz. She gained her first Michelin star in 2009 in the kitchens of the Luce restaurant at the San Francisco InterContinental Hotel.
The French chef will receive her award June 13 at the Cipriani Wall Street restaurant in New York USA, where the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 2016, will also be unveiled.
