French chef Hélène Darroze, awarded two Michelin stars, is the successful owner of two restaurants in London and Paris.
Hélène Darroze was born into a family of chefs and came in contact with her regional heritage at a young age. Despite being surrounded by innkeepers, she made her degree at l’Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Bordeaux Business School and started working in the office for Alain Ducasse at the Louis XV. After a few years, he urged her to try cooking, teaching her to look for quality in products and to cook with real flavours.
Darroze joined the family business at Relais & Châteaux in Villeneuve-de-Marsan and worked there for four years, until she opened her own Restaurant Hélène Darroze in Paris and was awarded two Michelin stars after a few years, losing her second star in 2010.
In 2008, she started working at The Connaught in London, replacing Angela Hartnett. The restaurant received its first Michelin star in 2009, followed by the second one two years later.
President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted her into the French Legion of Honour as a Chevalier in 2012.
