2 Michelin Star Chefs: Anne-Sophie Pic, chef patron, La Dame de Pic
Anne-Sophie Pic is the chef patron of two Michelin-starred restaurant La Dame de Pic at the Four Seasons Hotel in London
Anne-Sophie Pic is the most decorated of all female chefs in the world, currently holding eight Michelin stars across her five restaurants, including three at her family flagship, Maison Pic, in Valence, France; two at the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland and one at La Dame de Pic Paris.
Restaurants
As well as the restaurants listed above, Anne-Sophie Pic has another at The Four Seasons hotel in Megève, France; another at Raffles in Singapore; two fast food outlets in Paris and Valence, a bistrot on the site of Maison Pic in Valence, André, and a delicatessen, also in Valence.
The chef is best known for earning back three Michelin stars for her restaurant, Maison Pic, in Valence, in the South East of France, first earned by her grandfather in 1934 and retained by her father.
Biography
Beginning her culinary career in her family’s restaurant in south of France, Anne-Sophie’s grandfather André was one of the first chefs to receive three Michelin stars: the guide was first published in 1933 and André received his stars in 1934.
Anne-Sophie's father eventually took over the business and retained those three stars for the restaurant. Anne-Sophie didn't always want to be a chef, however, and instead chose to pursue a career in business.
But, in 1992, at the age of 23, she returned to Maison Pic to train as a chef under her father. When he passed away three months later, she moved to working the front of the house.
In 1995, the restaurant lost its third Michelin star, giving her the feeling that she "had lost her father's star," spurring her to return to the kitchen.
Almost ten years after taking over the restaurant in 1997 she regained three stars in the 2007 Michelin Guide France. She has retained them since.
In 2008, the chef and her husband David Sinapian opened a cookery school in her hometown of Valence
In 2009, she opened her second restaurant, Restaurant Anne-Sophie Pic, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Located inside the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel, it was awarded two Michelin stars on the same year.
In 2010, she launched her Paris restaurant, La Dame de Pic, and a delicatessen in Valence; in 2014, she opened two 'fast-good' outlets, one in Paris and another in Valence, and in 2016, she opened her bistrot, André, also in Valence.
She took the helm at The Four Seasons hotel in London in 2017, earning a star in 2019 and a second in 2020. In 2019, she opened a 'La Dame de Pic' restaurant in Singapore.
Female chefs
Anne-Sophie Pic has always been around male chefs, and struggled to express her femininity in the kitchen as she felt she had to have a tough exterior. She notoriously advises female chefs to assert their femininity in the kitchen rather than follow the direction men have taken in the past.
She is the fourth female chef to ever win three Michelin stars, and was named the Best Female Chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2011.
La Dame de Pic
La Dame de Pic in London was launched in April 2017 at the Four Seasons Hotel, making it Anne-Sophie Pic's latest venture. The kitchen is run by head chef Luca Piscazzi.
It was awarded its first star in the Michelin Guide UK 2018 and its second in the 2020 guide.
Anne-Sophie likes to keep her restaurants modern and not too conventional. Rather than paint the London restaurant, she decided to keep it white as she loves the cleanliness of the colour.
Marc Mantovani, head chef at the restaurant, is originally from Valence, France, trained at La Reine Jeanne in Les Baux-de-Provence, before joining his first Michelin-starred restaurant with Bruno d’Angelis at Hotel de Europe in Avignon.
At just 20 years old, he joined Anne-Sophie Pic's three Michelin-starred restaurant, where he stayed until he moved to take the reigns at The Four Seasons restaurant in London.
Videos of Anne-Sophie Pic:
Other Michelin Star Chefs
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