Dominique Crenn

“Early in my career, I was told I shouldn't try to work in a kitchen, that I should consider serving or managing instead. It was a sad narrative that was given to me, and it came from a society that didn't know better.”

“Sustainability is one of my biggest passions. I have two little girls, twins, and I lie awake at night worrying about what the world will look like for them.”

“I want people to ask me how I feel about the world, or what is my day about, and ask me a question that's not just related to food, but that's related to me being a person: Someone that's vulnerable, someone that has ideas and someone that wants to learn more.”

“I think through humor you can get a point across better than through just a dramatic narrative.”

“When I came to America, I saw the inequality right away with the food industry. And I don't really talk about it in the book, but the racism here, it's so predominant and so impregnated in the history of America.”

“I want to treat every ingredient in a way that conveys its most pure qualities, but with a little bit of a dreamy twist.”

“My biggest role models are not chefs, but women like Coco Chanel, Simone de Beauvoir, Nina Simone.”

“I'm most excited about people being more conscious about their eating habits.”

“If you are a chef, you have an incredible responsibility in this world. Don't just open a restaurant to serve food. Include the community, and make sure that you are not taking advantage of what the planet has given us.”

“I love meals where you have maybe 10 side dishes spread on the table. People get their plate and they can then pick what they want to eat.”

“I came to the U.S. in the 1990s. I worked all around, including at Stars, and in 1996, I became the chef of Yoyo Bistro, which used to be Elka. During my one-year tenure there, I met a lot of French chefs at the time.”

“Surround yourself with people that really care about not just you, but also the world and the things that you believe in.”

“Obviously, growing up in France, I had foie gras probably when I was two years old. Writing about it and understanding what's going on in the world about it, I think I became more conscious and more thoughtful about things, for sure.”

“In general, cooks like to be in the kitchen and they don't really interact with others.”

“As a chef, I've always been very conscious and very thoughtful about the way that I buy food or have my farmers produce it.”

“I have a big mouth. And I'm not afraid to use it.”

“Like I say, Michelin is Michelin. It's nice people are recognized, but at the end of the day, the star doesn't define you, it's what you do with it, and it's what you do in life in general. I think it helps you with the business, but it doesn't help you as a person.”

“My dad's best friend was a food writer and critic, so I was very lucky to eat in beautiful Michelin-starred restaurants growing up.”

“My family, they come from farmers. I used to spend my summers on the farm instead of in the south of France. I loved the hard work and the earth.”

“Well, I don't think I'm a chef. I'm just someone that... I found a way of speaking. It was not a pen. It was not a brush. It was food.”