Quotes from Dominique Crenn

My biggest role models are not chefs, but women like Coco Chanel, Simone de Beauvoir, Nina Simone.

I think cooks that are just interested in molecular gastronomy are cooks that will never be chefs.

I want to treat every ingredient in a way that conveys its most pure qualities, but with a little bit of a dreamy twist.

I have a big mouth. And I'm not afraid to use it.

I think through humor you can get a point across better than through just a dramatic narrative.

Early in my career, I was told I shouldn't try to work in a kitchen, that I should consider serving or managing instead. It was a sad narrative that was given to me, and it came from a society that didn't know better.

I'm talking to a lot of my industry to maybe try to create a guild and coalition where people, when they retire, would get a pension. We pay taxes through the years, we pay for unemployment, but we don't have a pension.

I've met a lot of people who were resistant to my ideas, because they were afraid to get into unfamiliar conversations. I didn't listen to them.

I love meals where you have maybe 10 side dishes spread on the table. People get their plate and they can then pick what they want to eat.

I love hi-tech kitchens, but that doesn't necessarily mean full of appliances.

My mom and dad taught me to never take anything for granted, and to give what you are to your community.

I never doubted myself when I opened my first restaurant. You've got to give 100% of yourself until you know you've done it. But it was still a struggle.

Look, I'm human. Sometimes I'm struggling, sometimes I'm hurting, sometimes I have feelings, sometimes I'm heartbroken. I try to do good in the world even when I'm very sad.

I try not to spend 10 hours in the kitchen when I cook at home for guests. That's why I try to be really organized and have everything thought out.

I'm not a pescatarian, I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm also a conscious person. And I know the impact of the way that we fix meat nowadays is not good. It's killing us, it's killing the planet.

Cooking is just a vehicle to express yourself, like painting and acting... The reason why we're cooking is not because we want to put something on the plate. It's so much more complex than that.