Among the protagonists of contemporary French cuisine is Hélène Darroze: a descendant of a lineage of chefs, like Anne-Sophie-Pic, she has captured the limelight with her sincere and authentic cuisine, reflecting her familial roots and origins in the Southwest.
Born in Mont de Marsan, in the French region of Landes, Hélène Darroze represents the fourth generation of a lineage of chefs. Her great-grandfather founded L’Auberge Le Relais in Villeneuve-de-Marsan in 1895, followed by her grandparents Jean and Charlotte, her father Francis, and her uncle Claude. Jean, in particular, was instrumental, steering the establishment towards excellence, winning Two MICHELIN Stars and influencing all his successors.
Among them is a petite, blonde woman with a disarming smile: the granddaughter Hélène Darroze, born in 1967, who was initially not so sure she wanted to follow in those footsteps. She instead enrolled in university and graduated from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Bordeaux, initially attracted to economic disciplines. But in the end, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree: Hélène joined Alain Ducasse's team at Louis XV in Monaco, and it was there that the great chef, after three years, encouraged her to step into the culinary spotlight. Her late-starting vocation and largely self-taught history did not hinder her determination and her overwhelming success.
Hélène took over the family restaurant in Villeneuve in 1995, but four years later, at 32, she left her Landes, breaking with family tradition, and opened a restaurant bearing her
name in Paris, on the Left Bank, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Here she quickly received critical acclaim; her first Star arrived just a year later, the second in 2003.
In 2008, the legendary Connaught Hotel in Mayfair was seeking a French chef to lead its kitchens and revive the spirit of the place. Hélène Darroze accepted the challenge and opened "Hélène Darroze at the Connaught," her second fine dining restaurant, destined to crown her achievements. By 2011 she had two Stars, then after ten years, she finally entered the exclusive club of three-Star chefs. Her cuisine is emotional and heartfelt, while all around her others overthink: “The Southwest? My roots, my name, my family, my terroir. I'm made of traditions, I humbly respect the legacy that comes to me from the land of my ancestors. It is in this region that the art of eating well was instilled in me, but also that of welcoming well, of sharing in simplicity the art of 'bien vivre' (good living).”
In September 2018 came a new restaurant in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, "Jòia par Hélène Darroze", designed over two years as a place of sharing and conviviality; in May 2019 the "Marsan par Hélène Darroze", where, twenty years after opening her first Parisian restaurant, the great chef reconnects sentimentally with her roots, earning again the second MICHELIN Star in January 2021. Then in July 2021, she joined the kitchens of the luxury hotel Villa La Coste, where the restaurant "Hélène Darroze à Villa La Coste" received a MICHELIN Star in March 2022. She practices a very different cuisine from that which made her famous, where the generosity of foie gras gives way to the aromas of Provencal products. After Joia, dedicated to grandmother's recipes, in March 2023, it was finally time for Joia Bun, a Parisian hamburger joint with delivery and take away conceived during pandemic closures.
Hélène Darroze is the second most starred woman ever (as of 2023 she has 6 Stars), just behind Anne-Sophie Pic. She also won the Veuve Clicquot World's Best Female Chef Award of The World's 50 Best in 2005. A well-known television face to the general public and mother of two adopted daughters, Charlotte and Quiterie, Hélène Darroze was also named Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2012 and Officer of the National Order of Merit in 2020. Committed to numerous causes, she supports the association "Afghanistan libre", which fights to promote respect for the rights of Afghan women and girls.
Cover Photo: @Jérôme Galland
