Hélène Darroze
The celebrated fourth-generation chef has a total of six Michelin stars and six restaurants to her name.
PARISIAN BONA FIDES
Two of Darroze’s restaurants, Jòia and Marsan par Hélène Darroze, are in Paris. She lives in the fashionable 6th arrondissement with her two teenage daughters.
WHEN SHE WANTS TO LET ANOTHER ACCOMPLISHED CHEF DO THE WORK
“I love to go to Les Enfants du Marché. It’s in a market where you have producers and some restaurants, and this one, particularly, is very good. You eat outside, sometimes with your coat. Café des Ministères is very traditional food, and this is a chef [Jean Sévègnes] who used to work a lot with me. It’s about the classic dishes like vol-au-vents, stuffed cabbage, oeufs mimosa [deviled eggs]—the classic dishes of the French cuisine but so, so good that you cannot find a table anymore. In summer it’s very nice. That’s when they also do tomates farcies [stuffed tomatoes]. It reminds me of my grandmother’s. It’s just incredible.”
WHEN SHE’S CRAVING ASIAN FARE
“I love Japanese food. One restaurant is Yen in the 6th arrondissement. My daughters were born in Vietnam, so we love Vietnamese food. Ha Noi 1988, this one is really good.”
BE SURE TO SAVE ROOM FOR
“I also advise going to one bakery for sure. There is one at the moment, Mamiche, which is just incredible. There’s a long queue in front, but you have to do it, because they are doing such beautiful bread and pastries. For example, a stuffed chouquette—it’s very Parisian. It’s like a little choux, stuffed with vanilla Chantilly, and it’s just crazy, but all their patisseries are very crazy.”