Dominique Ansel facts for kids
Ansel in 2017
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| Born | 1978 (age 46–47) Beauvais, France |
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| Cooking style | French pastry |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Award(s) won
2014 James Beard Awards Best Pastry Chef
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Dominique Ansel (born in 1978) is a famous French pastry chef. He owns the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. He is super well-known for creating the Cronut. This is a yummy mix of a croissant and a donut!
Contents
Early Life and Training
Dominique Ansel grew up in Beauvais, France. This is a small city not far from Paris. He was the youngest of four children in his family.
When he was 16, he left school to help his family. He started working at a restaurant. He also went to a free cooking school for three years. There, he learned to cook in different local restaurants. He first cooked savory dishes, then moved to pastries. He really liked how precise and scientific pastry making was.
At 19, Dominique did his military service in French Guiana. He cooked as part of a program that taught local people how to cook. When he returned home, he saved money to buy a car. He then drove to Paris and found jobs at bakeries.
Becoming a Top Chef
In Paris, Dominique Ansel worked at Pâtisserie Peltier for a year. Then, he spent almost eight years at a famous place called Fauchon.
In 2006, he moved to the United States. For six years, he was 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, in SoHo, Manhattan.
The Cronut Craze
In 2013, Dominique Ansel invented the Cronut. This new dessert became incredibly popular! It was even named one of Time Magazine's best inventions that year.
In 2014, he created another fun dessert. It was called the Chocolate Chip Cookie Milk Shot. This was a warm chocolate chip cookie shaped like a shot glass. It was filled with milk!
Awards and Recognition
Dominique Ansel won a big award in 2014. The James Beard Awards named him the Best Pastry Chef in the U.S.
In 2017, when he was 39, he received another huge honor. The World's 50 Best Restaurants awards named him the World's Best Pastry Chef. He was the first pastry chef in America to get this award. Other famous chefs like Jordi Roca and Pierre Hermé have also won it.
Expanding His Bakeries
In November 2017, Dominique Ansel opened a new bakery in Los Angeles. It was at The Grove. However, this bakery closed in September 2020. This happened because many restaurants had to close during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, he opened his first shop in Hong Kong, called Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel. This shop grew to three locations. However, Dang Wen Li closed down in 2024.
In July 2021, he opened Dominique Ansel Workshop. This is a special counter inside his pastry kitchen in Manhattan's Flatiron District. It focuses on croissants.
On October 21, 2022, he opened Dominique Ansel Las Vegas. This bakery is located at Caesars Palace. In May 2025, he launched Papa d’Amour in New York.
