Christian Constant (born 18 May 1950) is a French

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and entrepreneur.

Early life and career

Christian Constant was born in

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

, Tarn-et-Garonne in the region of

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by are ...

. He began his career as a chef in 1988 at the Hôtel Crillon in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Afterwards he was appointed chef at the Hôtel Ritz. In 1996 he founded his first restaurant ''Le Violon d'Ingres'' which received one

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

. Today he owns six restaurants, each with its own style and chef : ''Le Violon d'Ingres'', ''Le Café Constant'', ''Les Cocottes Tour Eiffel, Les Cocottes Arc-de-Triomphe'', restaurants offering traditional recipes cooked in Staub

Dutch oven A Dutch oven (not to be confused with masonry oven) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminium, or ceramic. Some metal ...

s. All of these are in Paris. Since 8 June 2011, he has also owned ''Le Bibent'', a brasserie located in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, and near his hometown, since 2014, Le Bistrot Constant. All of his restaurants are open 7 days a week.

Television

From 2010 to 2014, he was a member of the jury in the French version of ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...

'' on M6. He also presented on the same channel a similar short program titled ''Astuce de Chef'' alternatively with the other members of the jury, where he shows some cooking tips while preparing a dish.

References

External links

Site of the Maison Constant

Le Violon d'Ingres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constant, Christian 1950 births French chefs People from Montauban Living people Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit