Plate-à-Porter

Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn partners with Dior

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AS THE ONLY female chef in the country to hold three Michelin stars, Dominique Crenn is a beacon of culinary excellence. Known for her namesake San Francisco restaurant, Atelier Crenn, she is now partnering with Dior for a collection of in-boutique eateries dubbed Café Dior, broadening her reach alongside other collaborations with Air France and Les Bateaux Belmond. An advocate for sustainability heralded by Time as one of the world's 100 Most Influential People, Crenn continues to innovate in a male-dominated industry.

Born in Locronan, a commune in Brittany in northwest France, Crenn enjoyed a childhood surrounded by food. Her mother and grandmother introduced her to world cooking at Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese and Japanese restaurants, while her politician father took her to Michelin-star establishments with a friend who was the food critic for the newspaper Le Télégramme.

A tomboy with a fantastic humor and sharp tongue, she imagined a future in America, and was encouraged by her dad to move to California. After landing a few jobs, she set her sights on cooking for legendary chef Jeremiah Tower, who famously worked with Alice Waters at Berkeley's Chez Panisse and was then helming San Francisco's Stars, a crucible of California cuisine. "Tower changed my life," she says. "He made me look at food differently. And then we became very good friends, which has lasted till today."