Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/654717
8012 Hankins Industrial Park Toano, VA 23168 800-831-1828 • wholesale@ThePeanutShop.com Want Chocolate? We've got it all... Visit us at the Sweets & Snacks Expo - Booth 599. Preview our 2016 Wholesale Catalog Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 4100 actual, literal poem. There are no dishes or ingredients listed; instead, it's meant to evoke a sensory image of the food people about to taste, and build anticipation for the meal ahead. "You need to be thoughtful and conscious about the way you do every- thing," she notes. "The food matters. The people growing the food matter. The way the food grows matters. As a fine dining chef, I think, often, people don't really think this way." Crenn believes chefs have a responsibil- ity to be advocates, and with everything she does, she wants to change the way people think about the food they eat—where it comes from, what kind of an impact it has on them, and why there needs to be a diver- sity of different dining experiences. For example, Crenn doesn't serve chicken on her menu because of the way most are treated inhumanely on farms. "I won't put something on the plate if I find out the farmer is abusing an animal," she says. Having grown up in Brittany, France, in a family of farmers, she's always believed that people need to take good care of their animals as well as their vegetables. Caring for the people in her industry is also important to her. "When I talk to female students who want to get into the industry, I tell them 'believe in yourself and keep pushing. Don't let yourself down if someone talks back to you, or says you're just a girl. Keep being dedicated, and that will take you to the next level.'" Crenn herself was the first female chef in the U.S. to earn two Michelin stars for Atelier Crenn—which she opened back in 2011—and she continues to be committed to the white-tablecloth world. "I'm sick and tired of people saying fine dining is dead," she says. "If you take away fine dining, you take away the diversity. We need diversity in people, culture, art, and in food, too. That's "You need to be thoughtful and conscious about the way you do everything. The food matters. The people growing the food matter. The way the food grows matters. As a fne dining chef, I think, often, people don't really think this way." —Dominique Crenn (continued on p. 30) 26 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com