Atelier Crenn chef and Iron Chef winner Dominique Crenn is featured in the March issue of Elle, in which they write that she’s “shaking up the Alice Waters simplicity-rules establishment” in San Francisco. This being a fashion magazine, they describe her hair as “rock-and-roll mussed” and her style as “city-girl cool,” and they make a point of saying that Dominique stands out in the albeit small crowd of female chefs. “A hot female chef who wears Rag & Bone and Margiela is an unusual creature, but the fact that she’s to be found in, let’s admit it, frumptopia San Francisco, has a Michelin star on her CV, and is cooking in the male-dominated molecular gastronomy mode of elBulli’s Ferran Adria makes her as rare as a unicorn.” Frumptopia! Ha!
We’d say her cooking has more in common with the modern and only sometimes molecular, garden-to-table cuisine of David Kinch, with some Japanese influence as well, and she cites Michel Bras as an idol, but we digress.
Other takeaways from the Elle piece: they note the poetic nature of her menu at Atelier Crenn, with phrases like “lemon cloud” and “winter nuances” on it; also, she lets loose no shortage of pleasure at having her own, non-hotel restaurant. “There is no Sprite! No Sweet ‘n’ Low!” (Note: she remains consulting chef at Luce at the Inter-Continental.) Also, Gouge Eye Farm, which supplies her restaurant, offers packages for culinary tourists who want to stay over and help harvest vegeables — just call 916.600.2409.
Update: The link is now online, but unfortunately the headline now calls her Dominique Creen of Atelier Creen.
Turning the Tables: Atelier Creen’s Dominique Creen [Elle]
Earlier: A First Look Inside Atelier Crenn, Opening January 21 [Grub Street]
What to Eat at Atelier Crenn [Grub Street]
Dominique Crenn Opening Her Own Restaurant in the Former PlumpJack Space [Grub Street]
