Born
13 September 1956 (1956-09-13) (age 52)
Castel-Sarrazin, France
Biography
At the age of sixteen he started his career after entering the Pavillon Landais restaurant
in Soustons and at the Bordeaux hotel school. After he finished school he began working at Michel Guérard's restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains and at Gaston Lenôtre, but here only in the summer. Since 1977 he is the assistant of Moulin de Mougins under Chef Roger Vergé. He became for the first time chef in 1980 at L'Amandier in Eugène Mougin and head chef at La Terrasse in the Hôtel Juana in Juan-les-Pins after just one year.
In 1984 he received the two stars award in the Michelin Red Guide and was almost killed in a Lear jet crash. He became the Chef des Cuisines position
at the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo in 1987 and after three years because of him the hotel received the three stars award in the Red Guide. It was for the first time that a hotel restaurant was receiving that distinction.
Since 1995 when he founded it he is the owner of La Bastide de Moustiers, which is a twelve-bedroom country inn in Provence.After just one year the Alain Ducasse restaurant opened in Le Parc – Sofitel Demeure Hôtels in Paris, France and in 2000 at New York City's Jumeirah Essex House hotel.He is a great chef who owns three restaurants and has three Michelin Stars in three cities: Monte Carlo, Paris and New York. In 2005 he even opened an Asian restaurant in Tokyo.
September 13th 1956
Alain Ducasse was born on a farm in Castelsarrazin in the Landes region of south-western France.
In 1972, aged 16
The “Pavillon Landais” restaurant in Soustons, followed by an apprenticeship at the Bordeaux hotel school. He then forced his way into Michel Guérard’s restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains where he remained for two years, except for a few winter periods working for Gaston Lenôtre.
1977
He worked at Roger Vergé’s “Moulin de Mougins” where he discovered the flavors of Provençal cooking, which were later to become an essential element in his own kitchens.
1978
Alain Ducasse is employed by Alain Chapel in Mionnay. He spent two years with this chef who became his spiritual master.
1980
Roger Vergé offers him the position of Chef at “L’Amandier” in Mougins. One year later, Alain Ducasse takes charge of the kitchen brigade at “La Terrasse”, the restaurant in the Hôtel Juana in Juan-les-Pins. In 1984, he was awarded two stars in the Red Guide.
1987
The Société des Bains de Mer (S.B.M.) offers him the position of Chef des Cuisines at the Hôtel de Paris in Monte-Carlo, and ask him to manage the “Le Louis XV” restaurant.
1990
“Le Louis XV” is the first hotel restaurant to be awarded three stars in the Red Guide. Alain Ducasse was only 33 years old, and “Le Louis XV” was just 33 months old.
1994
Once the various restaurants in the prestigious hotel had been modernized, Alain Ducasse decided to devote himself exclusively to the restaurant “Le Louis XV”.
1995
Inauguration of “La Bastide de Moustiers”, a twelve-bedroom country inn, near to the Verdon Gorges in Provence. The restaurant is awarded one star in the Red guide in 2002.
12 August 1996
Opening of the “Alain Ducasse” restaurant in the hotel “Le Parc – Sofitel Demeure Hôtels”, located at 59 avenue Raymond-Poincaré in the chic 16th district of Paris. In 1997, just eight months after the opening the restaurant is awarded three stars in the Red Guide.
March 1998
Alain Ducasse becomes the first six-star chef; three for the “Alain Ducasse” restaurant at the Hôtel du Parc in Paris, and three for the “Le Louis XV” restaurant in the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco.
December 1998
Opening of the first concept restaurant by Alain Ducasse : “Spoon, Food & Wine”, in Paris. Adapted for Mauritius-Spoon des Iles-in 1999, London-Spoon + at Sanderson-Saint Tropez-Spoon Byblos-in 2002.
February 1999
Alain Ducasse takes over the presidency of the voluntary chain “Châteaux & Hôtels de France”.
June 1999
Opening of the concept of restaurant “bar & bœuf”, right in the heart of the “Le Sporting – Monte-Carlo” complex.
November 1999
Creation of the professional training center of Alain Ducasse : “ADF” that offers original training courses to prepare you for the cuisine of tomorrow.
December 1999
Right in the very heart of the village of La Celle in the Var, Alain Ducasse—with his friend Clément Bruno—has breathed new life into “L’Hostellerie de l’Abbaye de La Celle”, an 18th century mansion boasting ten bedrooms.
June 2000
Opening of restaurant “Alain Ducasse at the Essex House” in New York City
September 2000
Alain Ducasse sets up his Parisian restaurant of the av. Raymond Poincaré in the Hôtel Plaza Athénée.
December 2000
Opening of “59POINCARE” restaurant which creates a surprise of Vegetables Lobster Beef & Fruit
March 2001
Restaurant “Plaza Athénée” receives the three-star rating in the Red Guide, after only five months of opening.
December 2001
“Alain Ducasse at the Essex House” receives the New York Times four-star review and the Mobil Guide five-star award.
July 2002
Fully in keeping with an approach that tends to show that culinary excellence is not the prerogative of luxury and that rigor and quality do indeed equate with simplicity, Alain Ducasse opens “Auberge Iparla” in the French Basque County and restaurant “Aux Lyonnais” in October 2002 in Paris.
October 2002
The first be boulangépicier concept opens in Paris. Two professions combined as in the two letters of its name ! « b » (« boulangerie ») for a traditional bakery and « e » (« épicerie ») for a local grocery store.
April 2005
Groupe Alain Ducasse and Thierry de la Brosse take over Parisian bistro Benoit.
May 2005
Groupe Alain Ducasse partners with Patrizia and Olivier Massart the owners of Domaine des Andéols in Provence to develop this property which becomes the fifth Alain Ducasse country inn in Europe, 4th in France and a new member of Châteaux & Hôtels de France hotel association.
September 2005
Opening of Benoit Tokyo, a Mediterranean bistro in Aoyama. |
