Hélène Darroze on 15 years at the Connaught: 'We have to continue to challenge ourselves'

My family had a farm 15-20 kilometres from our restaurant, so it was in my DNA from day one. I was also confronted with meeting the guests and the restaurant service. It was something I loved from the beginning – the rush, the tension and the passion – it was my daily life. So, I have it in my blood, but it was also my childhood.

After graduating from university, you worked with Alain Ducasse at three-Michelin-starred Le Louis XV in Monaco – what did you learn from that time?

Alain Ducasse and I come from the same area [of France] and he has the same values that I learned from my family – that the most important thing on the plate is the quality of the product, the story behind it and the taste. That I recognised straight away.

When I arrived at the restaurant I noticed the level of detail – Ducasse is incredible for that. Everything is about looking for perfection and the desire to always do better. For him, the best is never achieved. You need to look at every detail, such as the tables and the uniforms and [aim for] perfection. That's something I learned from him.

How did opening your restaurant at the Connaught come about?

To be honest, I never had the idea to come to London. I used to say I'd be the chef at only one restaurant for the rest of my life, but that's obviously changed a bit. [The hotel] approached me and came to Paris to explain the project. I came to see the [restaurant] and I must admit that from the first step I took inside I completely fell in love with the place, the project and London. I arrived in London in November, there was a beautiful blue sky, and they organised a tour of Mayfair for me. There was a feeling in London that I hadn't found in Paris at that point. So, I was convinced to join the project. It was exciting.

Was there a difference between opening a fine dining restaurant in Paris and in London?

There was a lot of pressure, but in Paris I didn't have people from the hotel to help me. I had a strong team, but I was managing it alone. From day one at [the Connaught] I had the general manager, finance director and HR department working with me. They impressed me and listened to me, and I don't think they said no to anything. When I took over the restaurant I acted as if it was mine and wanted everything in hand. I had the comfort of having very strong and passionate people working on it.

The team has changed a lot, I've had four general managers over 15 years and three or four finance directors. I'm probably one of the oldest now at the Connaught! The opening was a really exciting time.

What are your favourite memories of the restaurant over the past 15 years?

I remember the day we opened. All the suppliers came, even from the south of France, and we organised an amazing market. That was a beautiful memory. For me, the most emotional and the biggest day of my life at the Connaught and in my life as a chef was when we won three Michelin stars. I couldn't imagine it would be so emotional and I'd be so happy and proud. It was incredible.

Was it always your goal to win three stars?

You always work to do the best. That's what I learned from Ducasse and my family. You put yourself in question all the time and always work to do better and give more happiness to the guests. That's the aim of every day. You don't wake up saying you're aiming for three Michelin stars, you wake saying, I have 40 guests for lunch, 50 for dinner, I will do my best.

But you do have Michelin in mind a little bit. We never sat around the table and said, ‘what can we do to get three Michelin stars?' But you dream – I cannot say the contrary. We have two Michelin stars in Paris and sometimes we dream about a third one. The question every day is, what can we do better?

Do you feel a pressure around maintaining your Michelin stars?

I never think about that. What's important for us is to give the best of what we have. After we won [three stars] I said to the team, there is no reason things will change. There is no pressure, otherwise you can go mad. It's not a stress for me to keep these three Michelin stars. I know we give the best of ourselves every day. We are sincere in what we do and we're happy to do that. That's the most important thing. To be honest, I don't have any stress about the Michelin lunch because I know we did our best. Afterwards, I don't have any regrets. If you start to feel stress, it's impossible.

What have been the biggest challenges for the restaurant over the past 15 years?

The challenge arrived straight away because I opened in July 2008 and in September we had the first financial crisis. There were a lot of consequences from that and the Covid pandemic. Both those periods were very difficult. Today, we are challenged by the increase of prices and recruitment. There are more and more fine dining restaurants in London and fewer and fewer chefs. We've seen the impact of Brexit on [it becoming more difficult to find] staff and on the price of products, particularly those coming from France. I won't say it was the best thing that's happened to us as Brexit was voted for by the people, but it's a shame [the government] doesn't make a way to [hire] some professional people from outside the UK because there are not enough people and it's a shame for business. I see some restaurants closing or closing for lunch even if there is demand because they don't have enough people.

Yesterday, I had a big meeting with our staff and general manager to say, ‘what can we do?'. Closing a restaurant for lunch is dramatic in terms of revenue and profitability. For me, it is the opposite of helping the economy.

How has Hélène Darroze at the Connaught evolved over the past 15 years?

It's very different. When I opened in 2008, it was like a replica of my restaurant in Paris – even the dishes were similar – but now, it's completely different. Michelin acknowledged this and said it was good that my restaurants in Paris, Provence and London are all fine dining, but so different from each other.

They have the same philosophy but a very different expression. It took me a little bit of time, but around 2015 I found the personality of this restaurant, focusing on product and on taste, but with the elegance that is necessary in a hotel like this.

I have to ask – is it true you were the inspiration for one of the chef characters in the film Ratatouille?

It's true, I'm the inspiration for Colette. But I always thought she didn't really look like me. The filmmakers came and spent a lot of time with me. That and being made into a Barbie doll [for a special collection to mark International Women's Day in 2018] will always follow me.

What are your hopes for the future, both for the restaurant and your career?

For the restaurant, I want to continue with the same passion. Some of the team here started to work with me 10-12 years ago and hopefully they want to stay and continue the amazing story here at the Connaught. There is always something to change and to improve. We have to continue to challenge ourselves. We have the same goal, to work like we are aiming for four [Michelin] stars, and it will continue like that, at least for the next 10 years.

One of our dreams over the next 10 years is perhaps to open a casual restaurant in London. It's something we would love to do in the same way we did in Paris. It's just about understanding that nothing is finished, nothing is complete. We can always do better.

Hélène Darroze

Paris

• Marsan par Hélène Darroze – fine dining restaurant with two Michelin stars
• Jòia par Hélène Darroze – a more casual restaurant offering brunch and counter dining
• Jòia Bun par Hélène Darroze – inspired by New York diners, it serves burgers and chips for eat-in or delivery

Provence

• Hélène Darroze à Villa La Coste – fine dining restaurant with one Michelin star inside a luxury hotelLondon
• Hélène Darroze at The Connaught – three-Michelin-starred hotel restaurant with a signature baba dessert

Marrakech

In 2023, Darroze took over from fellow French chef Yannick Alléno as culinary director at the Royal Mansour Marrakech. She plans to open a new restaurant at the hotel in 2024.