“Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys describes the year four-Michelin-starred Chef Dominique Crenn is having. She now divides her time between France, where her recently opened restaurant Golden Poppy Paris is, and Northern California, the home of her restaurants Atelier Crenn (recipient of 3 Michelin stars), Petit Crenn, and Bar Crenn (1 Michelin star), as well as to her Bleu Belle Farm in Sonoma.
Chef Crenn is arguably the most influential and successful chef in the U.S., with Europeans now getting a literal taste of her culinary talents on their home turf—and in the skies. That is because she recently created twelve original dishes for Air France customers to enjoy in the La Première and Business cabins. In the latter, travelers can enjoy Californian charbonnier (mushrooms) with quinoa and marinière sauce; or open raviole with eggplant, tomato, hazelnut, and parmesan, among other culinary delights.
Her wedding is scheduled for May, when she will marry actress and writer Maria Bello, with whom she has been engaged for five years. As Bello told People magazine, “Dom and I have been through the three C’s: cancer, COVID, and now commitment.”
The cancer diagnosis, Stage II metastatic breast cancer, came shortly after the engagement. Reflecting on that time, Chef Crenn told Mashed: “It was a triple-negative breast cancer, which is quite a difficult cancer to go through.” She endured several rounds of chemo and had a double mastectomy. She is now in remission.
Chef Crenn has always lived her life passionately, and openly. She has been an out member of the LGBTQ+ community for many years, and although the cancer diagnosis came as she was receiving international acclaim for her third Michelin star, she was open about her health challenges then as well.
She told Health Digest that she stopped eating processed foods. “Food is love too, so eat food that comes from love, not from a machine.” She added that doing research about food and health matters is also important. “It’s all about getting information, making sure to keep your head together.”
She also advised, “Have as much support as you can, because it’s not an easy journey.” She added, “What I say to people out there is surround yourself with love … . Love is probably the best medicine in anything that you do or anything you go through.”
In addition to Bello, Emmy Award-winning radio and television personality Liam Mayclem, who is also a San Francisco Bay Times columnist, remains part of Chef Crenn’s close, supportive circle. “She is a rebel with a cause,” Mayclem says, thinking of Chef Crenn’s 2020 book, Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters (Penguin Press). “With the grit and determination of an undefeated boxer, Chef Crenn took cancer’s many punches and won. She remains on top, a champion.”
Read more about Mayclem’s thoughts on Chef Crenn in this earlier piece for the Bay Times: https://tinyurl.com/2fdxttna
Coming Out for Women’s Health
Published on March 21, 2024
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