Anne-Sophie Pic
| Anne-Sophie Pic | |
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 Anne-Sophie Pic in 2014. | |
| Born |
12 July 1969 Valence, Drôme |
| Website |
www |
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Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | French cuisine |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Award(s) won
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Anne-Sophie Pic (born 12 July 1969) is a French chef best known for gaining three Michelin stars for her restaurant, Maison Pic, in southeast France. 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.
Biography
Anne-Sophie Pic is the daughter of chef Jacques Pic, and grew up at her family's restaurant, Maison Pic. Her grandfather, Andre Pic, was also a chef, who was particularly known for a crayfish gratin dish,[1] and who first gained the restaurant three Michelin stars in 1934.[2] However she initially decided not to follow in their footsteps, and instead travelled overseas to train in management.[1] She worked in Japan and the United States as an intern for various companies, including Cartier and Moët & Chandon,[3] but found herself drawn back to the restaurant for her "passion".[2]
At the age of 23, in 1992 she returned to Maison Pic to train under her father to become a chef. He died three months later, and she moved to working the front of the house. In 1995, the restaurant lost its third Michelin star, for which she felt she had lost "her father's star",[4] and spurred her to return to the kitchen. In 1997, Pic took control of the restaurant.[1] She had no formal training in cooking.[4]
In 2007, she regained Maison Pic's three Michelin stars. This was only the fourth time anywhere that a female chef had achieved three Michelin stars.[1] That same year, Pic was the only woman on French newspaper Le Figaro's list of the top twenty richest chefs in France.[1]
She opened her second restaurant, Restaurant Anne-Sophie Pic, in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was awarded two Michelin stars in 2009, and is located within the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel.[3][5] In September 2012, she is scheduled to open her first Paris-based restaurant, La Dame de Pic.[4]
Pic is married to David Sinapian and has a son named Nathan.[3][4]
Awards
In 2011, she received the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef award, named after Madame Clicquot Ponsardin[6] and given by the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards scheme from British magazine Restaurant. It was the first time the category had been awarded, and it was thought to have been closely fought between Pic, Elena Arzak and Nadia Santini.[2] At the time of the award, Pic was the only three Michelin starred female chef in France.[3]
On 14 July 2011, she was named a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honour.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Chrisafis, Angelique (22 February 2007). "A woman's place: France rocked by Michelin's latest three-star chef". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- 1 2 3 "French chef named World's Best Female Chef". The Independent. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Passariello, Christina (17 September 2011). "The Illusionist of French Gastronomy". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Becky (10 April 2012). "'World's best female chef' shares recipe for success". CNN. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ↑ "Anne-Sophie Pic". Via Michelin. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ↑ "Best Female Chef". The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ↑ "Anne-Sophie Pic Promue Dans L'Ordre National De La Légion D'Honneur". Le Chef (in French). 15 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.