Photo Credit: Jordan Wise
Chef Dominique Crenn is one of the culinary industry’s most influential chefs. Not only does she have a strong presence in the local community as a philanthropist and restauranteur, but she’s also respected and admired in the international food scene and pioneer of the #metoo movement. Case in point: her ongoing partnership with Resy—a digital provider of restaurant reservations—that highlights female chefs.
Photo Credit: Jordan WiseThe Women of Food is a dinner series in which Crenn invites different women, from around the globe, to join her in Petit Crenn’s kitchen for one night only. Crenn and company offer two seatings for this special meal. Haute Living was on the scene for last’s week event which featured Belgium’s Karen Keygnaert and New Orleans’ Rebecca Wilcomb.
Photo Credit: @katwalksf
Although she owns Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn and the recently opened Bar Crenn, Petit Crenn, her Hayes Valley eatery was the ideal place to host the all-inclusive dinner. The vibe was celebratory—guests were greeted with glasses of Champagne—and Crenn was seen dancing in the open kitchen to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody and other similar female empowerment songs.
Photo Credit: Jordan Wise
At the start of the meal, the chef gave a small, but moving speech. “Welcome to the Women of Food in the land of the free where everyone is equal, and no one is better than anyone else,” she said. “This is a place where we celebrate talent, women, love, art, cooking. The reason why we are doing this is that we love sharing things. We’re not doing this because we have a big ego. We are doing it because it is the right thing to do. We want to create awareness. To change the culture, it is not going to come from the media or the newspapers; it’s going to come from you guys. You have a duty to change the future.” By inviting these chefs into her kitchen and using her voice to speak up, Crenn is spearheading positive change in a male-dominated industry.
Photo Credit: Jordan Wise
The six-course meal was a seafood feast with each chef cooking two courses and an amuse bouche. The dishes were delicious and reflective of the chef’s background and unique culinary point of view. Keyygnaert’s crab with fresh figs and avocado was a favorite as was Crenn’s barbecued hamachi collar with tomato consommé. Wilcomb’s squid ink rice showed her prowess of elevating traditional Cajun cuisine. It was a lovely evening where food and femininity were championed.
The next two Women in Food events at Petit Crenn are September 25 and November 27. Traci des Jardins and Nina Compton will cook on the 25 and April Bloomfield and Judy Joo will join Crenn in the kitchen in November.
