Hélène Darroze is today a woman in mourning. The 54-year-old chef has lost her father Francis Darroze, also a professional cook. She shared the terrible news on her Instagram account, followed by 637,000 fans of food.
“Have a nice trip my little daddy“, she indicated in the photo caption, this Sunday, November 7, 2021.
Hélène Darroze owes her love of cooking to a family tradition. “She has been the heir to a dynasty of Southwestern cuisine for four generations. His great-grandfather had opened the inn in 1895 Relay in Villeneuve de Marsan, taken over by his grandfather Jean and grandmother Charlotte, then by his father Francis. His uncle Alain Darroze took care, among other things, of the private kitchens of the Elysée, Claude Darroze (another uncle) also had two stars in Langon“, reported France 3 Regions on the occasion of a report which was devoted to his clan.
Although her family has worked in the restaurant business for a long time, it was not obvious for Hélène Darroze to continue in this direction. Thus, she did not immediately take this direction at the beginning of her graduate studies. “Bathing in this environment, it would have been more logical. But my vocation as a chef appeared to me late. I regret a little not having joined a cooking school. I would have been immersed earlier in this universe“, she said to the site of The Student.
After a while, the chef finally opted for a HEC preparation and then the Bordeaux Sup de co competition with one idea in mind … “It was necessary to convince, to be noticed, to be different from the others. I simply expressed to them my desire to take over the reins of the family inn. At Darroze, in Villeneuve-de-Marsan. They saw that this project was really close to my heart“, added the star of the kitchen. The rest, everyone knows her: Hélène Darroze has made a good place in the community, won stars, opened restaurants in Paris or London – even if she is in debt according to her own statements – and, of course, advises candidates of Top chef. No doubt all this was the pride of her late dad.