Dominique Ansel facts for kids
Ansel in 2017
|
|
| Born | 1978 (age 46–47) Beauvais, France |
|---|---|
| Cooking style | French pastry |
|
Current restaurant(s)
|
|
|
Award(s) won
2014 James Beard Awards Best Pastry Chef
|
|
Dominique Ansel (born in 1978) is a famous French pastry chef. He owns the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. He is most well-known for creating the Cronut. This is a yummy mix of a croissant and a donut!
Contents
Growing Up and Starting Out
Dominique Ansel grew up in Beauvais, a small city near Paris, France. He was the youngest of four children. To help his family, he left school at 16. He started working at a restaurant.
He also went to a free cooking school for three years. He learned to cook in different local restaurants. He liked making pastries the most. He enjoyed the careful and exact science of baking.
When he was 19, Ansel did his military service in French Guiana. He cooked for a program that taught local people how to cook. When he came back home, he bought a car. He drove to Paris and found jobs at bakeries very quickly.
His Amazing Career
In Paris, Ansel worked at Pâtisserie Peltier for a year. Then he spent almost eight years at Fauchon, a famous food store. In 2006, he moved to the United States. He became the main pastry chef at Daniel. This is a fancy French restaurant in New York City.
In 2011, he opened his own place, Dominique Ansel Bakery. It is located in SoHo, Manhattan.
The Cronut Craze
In 2013, Dominique Ansel created the Cronut. It quickly became super popular! Time Magazine even called it one of the best inventions of the year. People lined up for hours to try this special treat.
In 2014, he made another fun dessert. It was called the Chocolate Chip Cookie Milk Shot. This was a warm chocolate chip cookie shaped like a shot glass. You could fill it with milk and drink it!
Awards and Recognition
Dominique Ansel has won many important awards. In 2014, he was named Best Pastry Chef in the U.S. by the James Beard Awards. This is a very big honor in the food world.
In 2017, when he was 39, he won another huge award. The World's 50 Best Restaurants named him the World's Best Pastry Chef. He was the first pastry chef in America to get this amazing award. Other famous chefs like Jordi Roca and Pierre Hermé have also won it.
Expanding His Bakeries
In November 2017, he opened Dominique Ansel Bakery Los Angeles. It was at The Grove. This bakery closed in September 2020. This happened because many restaurants faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2021, he opened his first shop in Hong Kong. It is called Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel.
In July 2021, he opened Dominique Ansel Workshop in Manhattan's Flatiron District. This place is a special counter where you can get croissants.
On October 21, 2022, he opened Dominique Ansel Las Vegas. It is located at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
