Dominique Crenn : " Working on The Menu movie set opened my eyes to the power of hospitality"

Le 20 January 2023

Dominique Crenn has been chosen by the Bocuse d’Or as the Honorary President of the Bocuse d’Or Final. Interview with the chef of the Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.

Interview suivante

The Bocuse d’Or looks like your own identity in some way : the roots are French, it brings together people and countries from all over the world, the competition embodies hybrid culinary identities... Are you enthusiastic towards it ? What are your expectations ?

The world has so many layers and diversity is everything. We need to be curious of what we don’t know, and gain the knowledge of it. We need to allow each human to evolve in their way of thinking, and bring another layer to their skills. Evolution is the key of moving forward. I am excited for this journey of discovery, to learn and observe each team story telling.

Mark Mylod's film, The Menu, truly met its audience, and you were a consultant there. What role specifically did you play on set, what did you take away from this experience ? How did it impact your own job ?

We created a mood board to bring the feeling of what the menu will look like, and we worked on developing every dish with the utmost detail. And, of course, everything was delicious. The Menu was a brilliant script with a brilliant director and incredible cast. Besides creating the dishes and orchestrating the execution of them, my job was to work closely with Ralph Fiennes and the director to bring authenticity on every level of the film. Each dish was served the same way as if we were eating in a restaurant, so the emotion of the taste was real. Teamwork was at the forefront of this experience. It was an incredible journey and opened my eyes to the power of hospitality in this world.

San Francisco, America, are your field of expression in the kitchen, in your restaurants. What energy do you draw from this territory, why did you choose this host country in the first place a few years ago ?

I am inspired by the nature of the place, the story and the diversity of people. Food is culture and storytelling. Here, I felt the freedom of being me, that curiosity of learning and discovering new horizons.

The cooking and gastronomy industry is resilient but has to fight against many things since COVID : ever-increasing competition, economic models to be reinvented, long term sustainability... How do you prioritize your job nowadays, what are the biggest professional challenges for you ?

Humanity has always been at the core of my company. Sustainability starts with valuing people first always, giving them a place where they can grow, breathe, learn and be. Human values are the base recipe of any successful company.