Dominique Crenn
Dominique Crenn is a French chef, author and restaurateur whose poetic cooking at San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn connects food with memory, art and care for the planet.
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Dominique’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Penguin Press
Searchlight PicturesOverview
- From
- France, with family roots in Brittany
- Based in
- San Francisco
- Work
- Chef, restaurateur, author and cooking instructor
- Signature restaurant
- Atelier Crenn, opened in 2011
- Breakthrough
- First woman in the U.S. to earn two Michelin stars in 2012, then three in 2018
Mini bio
How it started.
Adopted and raised in France, Dominique grew up with parents who cared about food and art. Holidays on family farms in Brittany and time cooking with her mother and grandmother taught her to connect a meal with the people and places behind it. She later moved to San Francisco and trained at Stars under Jeremiah Tower and Mark Franz.
Finding her own language.
She opened Atelier Crenn in 2011 as a tribute to her father and a home for what she calls poetic culinaria. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star that year, a second in 2012 and a third in November 2018. Those latter two milestones made her the first woman in the United States to receive each distinction.
Beyond the dining room.
Her work reaches fans through the cookbook Atelier Crenn: Metamorphosis of Taste, the memoir Rebel Chef, a 2016 episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table and her vegetarian MasterClass. For The Menu, she helped create the dishes and trained the cast in the workings of a fine dining kitchen.
What matters to her.
Crenn uses food to talk about sustainability and equality. Atelier Crenn stopped serving meat in 2019 to draw attention to industrial farming, and her Sonoma County farm puts regenerative growing into practice. Recent projects include restaurants with Dior and a new Petit Crenn in Melbourne.
Creditschronological, newest first
Restaurants and collaborations
- 2026Petit Crenn MelbourneChef and restaurant creator
- 2025Monsieur Dior, Beverly HillsChef collaborator
- 2025Café Dior, DallasChef collaborator
- 2018Bar CrennFounder
- 2011Atelier CrennChef and owner
Books
- 2020Rebel Chef: In Search of What MattersAuthor with Emma Brockes
- 2015Atelier Crenn: Metamorphosis of TasteCookbook author
Screen and teaching
- 2022The MenuChief technical consultant
- 2022Modern Vegetarian CookingMasterClass instructor
- 2016Chef’s Table, season 2Featured chef
Awards
- TIME1002024 · Named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.
- Icon Award2021 · Honored by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for her contribution to the restaurant industry and wider community.
- Three Michelin stars2018 · Atelier Crenn received its third star, making her the first woman in the U.S. to achieve the distinction.
- The World’s Best Female Chef2016 · Received the award from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
- Two Michelin stars2012 · Became the first woman in the U.S. to earn two Michelin stars, for Atelier Crenn.
Quotes
I want to use food as a language.Dominique Crenn, MasterClass
In the introduction to her vegetarian cooking class, she explains how cooking lets her express ideas and encourage change.
Trivia
- As a child, she imagined becoming a photographer or a police detective.
- Her childhood detective ambition was inspired by Starsky and Hutch.
- Her grandmother’s farm in Brittany grew potatoes, and she chose farm work over summer camp.
- She and her team trained Ralph Fiennes for his role as the chef in The Menu.
Find Dominique
Follow her cooking, travels and new projects.
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