Becoming a chef
“I always wanted to do something with my hands and be artistic,” Dominique Ansel says. “I grew up in a poor neighborhood [in France] where we needed to get a job early to sustain ourselves. At age 16, the kitchen was a place that welcomed me.”
Why pastry
“I started off cooking in the savory side of the kitchen, but the science and techniques behind pastry became much more attractive to me. I liked that you could create things truly from scratch with just some flour, sugar, and butter.”
Career path
Ansel went to a small culinary school in his hometown of Beauvais, France and was required to do an apprenticeship as part of his studies. “After returning from military service, I took all my savings and bought a small car to drive around Paris and drop off my résumé,” he says. “Eventually I landed a position at Fauchon as a holiday worker.” At the end of the season, the restaurant would only keep one of the 20 or so it had hired. “I was the one they chose,” he says. He stayed for more than eight years, traveling the world opening stores for the company. “Then one day Daniel Boulud called me and said he was looking for a pastry chef for his restaurant. A few weeks later, I was in New York with my two suitcases.” Six years later, he decided to go out on his own. “I joke that I have the shortest résumé in the world, but I stayed for many years with each post and learned a great deal.”
The eight-seat table at after-hours tasting concept U.P. at
Dominique Ansel Kitchen in New York.
Lessons learned from Boulud
“In France, the chef was always right, but Daniel taught me that here in the U.S., the customer is king. His customer service and flexibility was something I always looked up to.”
On his Dominique Ansel Bakery debut in New York in 2011
“Every pastry chef eventually dreams of opening up their own place. I wanted it to feel fresh and a ‘new generation’ of bakeries that didn’t feel intimidating. People told me a French pastry shop wouldn’t work well in New York, and I should do cupcakes and cheesecakes. But I believed we could create a place not just for any specific pastry but also for creativity in general.”
Why the Cronut, his croissant-doughnut hybrid, went viral
“It’s impossible for anyone to predict any pastry would have the reaction the Cronut did,” he says. “It was just one of many ideas. We change a large portion of the menu every six to eight weeks, and the Cronut was one more creation. The best part for any chef is to see people enjoying their food. It’s why we do what we do.”
On recently opening made-to-order bakery Dominique Ansel Kitchen in New York, designed by AvroKO
“I was judging a cookie contest and when we first arrived, there were only three contestants. Toward the end of the judging more than 20 more people entered and I realized they did it strategically because their cookies were fresh,” Ansel explains. “A fresh, just-made cookie is always better than one that’s been sitting around. And that started to make me obsessed with treating time as an ingredient.”
Why design is important
“Design sets the tone and context of your food. I truly believe food tastes different when you’re sitting at a fancy white-clothed table or a barstool.”
The light-hued futuristic bakery concept by LINE for
Dominique Ansel Bakery in Tokyo.
Recent openings
Ansel just took his Bakery concept to Tokyo, and debuted new after-hours dessert tasting concept U.P. at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in New York. “Good businesses grow with time, but the most important thing is to always do so mindfully,” he explains of his calculated expansion plan.
Why Tokyo
“There’s such great pastry talent in Tokyo and what matters the most at the end of the day is that the people on your team have the skills it takes to maintain quality,” Ansel explains. The designer, LINE, created a concept “inspired by bringing the current SoHo bakery into the future by 50 years.”
