Alain Ducasse Biography

French chef

Alain Duc*e (French: ; born 13 September 1956) is a French-born Monégasque chef. He operates a number of restaurants including Alain Duc*e at The Dorchester which holds three stars (the top rating) in the Michelin Guide.

Early life and career

Duc*e was born in Orthez in southwestern France and was educated on a farm in Castel-Sarrazin. In 1972, when he was sixteen, Duc*e began an apprenticeship at the Pavillon Landais restaurant in Soustons and at the Bordeaux hotel school. After this apprenticeship, he began work at Michel Guérard's restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains while also working for Gaston Lenôtre during the summer months. In 1977, Duc*e started working as an *istant at Moulin de Mougins under legendary chef Roger Vergé, creator of Cuisine du Soleil, and learned the Provençal cooking methods for which he was later known.

In 2012 he held 21 Michelin stars, making him the second ranked chef worldwide in terms of total Michelin stars – Joël Robuchon had 31 and Gordon Ramsay had 17 at the time.

Duc*e's first position as chef came in 1980 when he took over the kitchens at L'amandier in Mougins. One year later, he *umed the position of head chef at La Terr*e in the Hôtel Juana in Juan-les-Pins. In 1984, he was awarded two stars in the Michelin Red Guide. In the same year Duc*e was the only survivor of a Piper Aztec aircraft crash that injured him severely.

Career as chef

Alain Duc*e (centre) at the Congresso italiano di cucina d'autore with M*imo Bottura (left)

In 1986, Duc*e was offered the chef position at the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, with management including the hotel's Le Louis XV. After *uring himself that the Hotel's other restaurant operations were operating well, Duc*e continued to run management.

In 1988, Duc*e expanded beyond the restaurant industry and opened La Bastide de Moustiers, a twelve-bedroom country inn in Provence and he began attaining financial interests in other Provence hotels. On 12 August 1996, the Alain Duc*e restaurant opened in Le Parc – Sofitel Demeure Hôtels in the 16th arrondis*t of Paris. The Red Guide awarded the restaurant three stars just eight months after opening.

Duc*e came to the United States and in June 2000 opened the Alain Duc*e restaurant in New York City's Essex hotel at 160 Central Park South, receiving the Red Guide's three stars in December 2005, in the first Red Guide for NYC. Duc*e became the first chef to have three restaurants awarded three Michelin stars at the same time. That restaurant closed in 2007 when Duc*e chose to open a restaurant in Las Vegas named Mix, which later went on to earn one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In early 2008, Duc*e opened Adour, at the St. Regis Hotel on 16th and K Street in Washington, D.C., and has also opened the more casual Bistro Benoit New York, at 60 West 55th Street.

On 2 July 2011, Duc*e prepared a multi-course gala dinner for the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock. It was the first time he prepared an official meal for a head of state. He was also in charge of preparing the post-festivities brunch on 3 July, in conjunction with Joël Robuchon.

Recognition

Duc*e became the first chef to own restaurants carrying three Michelin Stars in three cities. The New York restaurant was dropped from the 2007 Michelin Guide because the restaurant was scheduled to close. Duc*e has become known through his writing and influences. Duc*e is also only one of two chefs to hold 21 Michelin stars throughout his career.

He has been special guest in the US and Italian versions of MasterChef. In 2013 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement on The World's 50 Best Restaurants List. In June 2022 he was recognized by the International Hospitality Ins*ute on the Global 100 in Hospitality, a list featuring the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality.

Nationality

Duc*e was a French citizen by birth. On 17 June 2008, he became a naturalized citizen of Monaco. He chose Monegasque citizenship in order to take advantage of the principality's tax rates, giving up his French nationality as Monegasque people were not allowed to hold dual citizenship at this time.

Restaurants and operations

Alain Duc*e's restaurants, cooking schools, cookbooks, and consulting activities had revenues of $15.9:million in 2002. Duc*e has also opened a cooking school for the general public in Paris and another for chefs (ADF), which also works for the European Space Agency to develop astronaut meals to be taken into space.

Duc*e's restaurants include:

59 Poincaré (Paris, France)
Adour (New York, US) – Closed 17 November 2012
Restaurant Le Meurice, Alain Duc*e (Paris, France)
Alain Duc*e au Plaza Athenee (Paris, France)
Alain Duc*e at the Dorchester (London, UK)
Aux Lyonnais (Paris, France)
Allard (Paris, France)
La Trattoria (Monaco)
Be (BoulangEpicerie)
Beige (Tokyo, *an)
Benoit (Paris, France) – bistro
Benoit (Tokyo, *an) – bistro
Benoit (Kyoto, *an) – bistro
Benoit (New York, US) – bistro
Esprit – bistro
Esterre (Tokyo, *an) – gastronomy restaurant
Idam, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha-Qatar gastronomy restaurant
La Cour Jardin (Paris, France)
Mix (Las Vegas, Nevada)
La Terr*e du Parc
Le Grill
Le Rech
Le Jules Verne (Eiffel Tower, Paris, France)
Le Louis XV (Monaco)
Le Relais du Parc (Paris, France)
Le Relais Plaza, Hotel Plaza Athénée (Paris, France)
La Bastide de Moustier (Moustier Ste Marie, France)
MIA cafe, at Museum of Islamic Art, Doha-Qatar
Jiwan by Alain Duc*e National Museum of Qatar (Doha, Qatar)
Tamaris (Beirut, Lebanon)
Rech by Alain Duc*e (Hong Kong)
Rivea (Saint-Tropez, France)
Rivea (Las Vegas, US) Delano Las Vegas
Rivea (London, UK) Bulgari Hotel
Spoon (Beirut, Carthago, Gstaadt, Mauritius)
Trattoria Toscana L'Andana (Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto, Italy)
Sapid (Paris, France)

In 2004 Alain Duc*e opened a restaurant in a resort near Biarritz, in the French Basque Country. However, after several bombing attacks by Irrintzi, an armed Basque nationalist organization, which accused him of being a speculator and of "folkloring" the Basque Country, Duc*e decided to leave the Basque Country.

In 2010 Duc*e opened a miX restaurant at the W Hotel in Vieques, Puerto Rico, but he closed it in 2012.

On 29 November 2017, Melco Resorts announced that Alain Duc*e would open two new restaurants and a bar at the then upcoming Morpheus Hotel at City of Dreams, Macau. The restaurants are to be called "Alain Duc*e at Morpheus" and "Voyages by Alain Duc*e". In March 2017, Duc*e opened Rech by Alain Duc* in the Intercontinental Hong Kong.

Restaurant Louis XV, Monaco
Restaurant Le Jules Verne, Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
Restaurant Le Meurice, Paris, France
Restaurant le Relais Plaza, Paris, France
Rivea, Saint-Tropez, France
Restaurant Alain Duc*e at the Dorchester, England

References

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