#FOURNEWS | Hélène Darroze is Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef 2015!

21 Apr 2015
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2 min read
Executive chef Hélène Darroze at The Connaught London picks up this wonderful accolade and will be honoured at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards later this year
Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef 2015

We are thrilled to present Hélène Darroze with the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef Award,” saysVeuve Clicquot President, Jean-Marc Gallot.“Her work and tireless passion, spanning Paris and London, truly embodies the spirit of the award and we look forward to watching her continued excellence in years to come. We are delighted to celebrate exceptional female chefs and women in business that embody the same drive and resolve as Madame Clicquot herself. Celebrating the accomplishments of women like Hélène through the award and other initiatives like the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award is of great importance to the House. Not only does this award celebrate extraordinary women in the industry but it also encapsulates the harmonious pairing of excellence in food and the exceptional art of wine making.”

Highlighting extraordinary female chefs, theVeuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef award is given to the chef whose cooking most impresses over 900critic and venerated chefs.

William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said, “Celebrating the success of remarkable female chefs, in what remains a very male-orientated world, is of enormous importance. In conjunction with Veuve Clicquot, we are proud and excited to present the award to Hélène Darroze. Hélène’s impressive accomplishments, passion for exceptional produce and dedication to the profession makes her the perfect recipent of this year’s Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef. She is an inspiration to future generations of women who want to enter the profession, proving that skill, hard work and passion will be rewarded and celebrated.”

Hélène responded to the news of her win by saying“As much as the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef is an accolade for me, it is also an accolade for my team at the Connaught in London and Hélène Darroze in Paris. I am honoured to win the award because there are talented female chefs all over the world and I imagine choosing only one is challenging. I think it is important to celebrate women and their achievements. My hope is that the recipients of this award inspire young women, including my daughters, to follow their passion and work hard to hone their skill regardless of profession. I greatly admire all of the previous winners of this prestigious award and I am thrilled to now be in their company.”

Hélène joins Elena Arzak of Spain’s Arzak, Anne-Sophie Pic of Maison Pic in France, Nadia Santini of Dal Pescatore and Helena Rizzo of Brazilian restaurant Mani in winning this wonderful accolade.

AboutHélène

The daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of chefs, Hélène Darroze was naturally destined to become a cook.

Beginning her culinary career at Sup de Co Bordeaux, Helen joined the team of Alain Ducasse at the Louis XV in Monaco, where she worked in the service side Administrative prestigious restaurant. Chef Alain Ducasse quickly identified her immense talent and encouraged young Darroze to cross to the other side of the kitchen.

For four years chef Hélène Darrozeremained working with Alain Ducasse before returning to her native Landes region to take up a post at Relais & Château’s Villeneuve-de-Marsan in 1995.

Four years later, chef Hélène Darroze opened her own restaurant, Restaurant Hélène Darroze, in 1999 at 4 rue d’Assas in Paris and had her first taste of accolade success almost immediately. She received her first Michelin star in 2000, her second star in 2003, and was awarded Chef of the Year by Pudlo in 2001.

In 2008 chef Hélène Darroze took charge of the restoration of the prestigious Connaught in London where she received yet another Michelin star.