Hélène Darroze (born 23 February 1967) 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 ...

. She has 6

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 ...

s and three restaurants, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught in London with 3 stars, Marsan par Hélène Darroze in Paris with 2 stars and Hélène Darroze à Villa La Coste in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

with 1 star.

Career

In 1990, after graduating from university, Darroze began working for

Alain Ducasse Alain Ducasse (; born 13 September 1956) is a French-born Monégasque chef. He operates a number of restaurants including Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester which holds three stars (the top rating) in the Michelin Guide. Early life and career ...

in the office of the Le Louis XV restaurant in Monaco, where she was convinced to enter the kitchen by Ducasse. It was her first time working anywhere other than her family restaurant and she later said that she was working in the office about half the time. After working for Ducasse for three years, she returned to her family's restaurant and kept its existing

. After the restaurant suffered financial difficulties and closed in 1999, she opened Restaurant Hélène Darroze in Rue d'Assas, Paris and won her first Michelin star in 2001, picking up a second in 2003. The second star was lost in the 2010 version of the guide. In 2008, Darroze was named as the new chef at the Connaught in London, replacing

Angela Hartnett Angela Maria Hartnett (born September 1968) is an English Michelin-starred chef. A protégée of Gordon Ramsay who became well known by her appearances on British television, she was Chef-Patron at Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in London. Cu ...

, who had operated Angela Hartnett at The Connaught there on behalf of Gordon Ramsay Holdings. Darroze took over as part of a £70m refurbishment of the hotel and, in addition to the restaurant, she is also responsible for the hotel's catering services. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught was panned by restaurant critics when it first opened.

Food critic The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used int ...

Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is an English journalist and food critic. Early life Jason Matthew Rayner was born on 14 September 1966. He is the younger son of Desmond Rayner and journalist Claire Rayner. His family is Jewish. He ...

described the food there as "Two of the very worst dishes ever to be served to me at this level." Despite this, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2009, and then a second star in 2011 and a third in 2021. In 2012 Darroze was admitted into the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

as a Chevalier (Knight) by President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

Personal life

Darroze is a fourth generation chef, the previous three having run a family restaurant in

Villeneuve-de-Marsan Villeneuve-de-Marsan (; oc, Vilanava de Marsan) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the ...

, France. Before becoming a professional chef she earned a degree in business. Darroze has two adopted daughters from Vietnam, Charlotte and Quiterie. She alternates on a weekly basis between staying in London and in Paris, in order to split her time between her restaurants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darroze, Helene Living people 1967 births French chefs Recipients of the Legion of Honour Women chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants