{"id":7845,"date":"2026-09-22T17:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/7845\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T17:31:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:31:08","slug":"at-mexicos-apapaxoa-dominique-crenn-on-what-matters-in-fine-dining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/7845\/","title":{"rendered":"At Mexico\u2019s Apapaxoa, Dominique Crenn on What Matters in Fine Dining"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"Chef Dominique Crenn speaks at Mexico\u2019s Apapaxoa Festival. Walter Tot Junior<\/p>\n

Even at an extravaganza with chefs who collectively hold more than 70 Michelin stars, Dominique Crenn rises above it all. But on Saturday, Sept. 19, when she was honored at a tribute dinner during the Apapaxoa food festival in Mexico, Crenn stressed that accolades and lists shouldn\u2019t be the focus when you feed people.<\/p>\n

At a dinner where star female chefs like Karime L\u00f3pez, Gaby Ruiz, Maribel Aldaco Silva and Fernanda Prado made resplendent dishes that showcased the colors of Mexico at Hotel Xcaret Arte in Riviera Maya, Crenn told the crowd that it\u2019s important to consider \u201cnot who\u2019s the best but what matters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crenn talked, as she often does, about how humanity is a vital ingredient in the hospitality industry. She talked about honoring the work of farmers and fishermen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about knowing where something comes from and respecting the hands that touched it before,\u201d Crenn said.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Maribel Aldaco Silva. Walter Tot Junior<\/p>\n

Creativity without ego is something that Crenn, who holds three Michelin stars at San Francisco\u2019s Atelier Crenn, thinks about a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen everything else disappears, the title may not matter,\u201d she said. \u201cThe star will not matter. Being called the best will not matter. What will matter is \u2026 how we treated one another, how we met people and how deeply we loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

One recurring theme at Apapaxoa, a six-day gathering in the Mexican Caribbean that concludes on Wednesday, is how the world\u2019s most celebrated and avant-garde chefs want to slow things down even as they continue to innovate. The morning after the tribute dinner, Crenn acknowledged that A.I. is a tool with limitations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just go to A.I. and replace gastronomy,\u201d she told the crowd during a conversation about women in the kitchen. \u201cGastronomy is people. It\u2019s emotions. We need humans. You need to sit in a restaurant and have a conversation. A.I. doesn\u2019t have emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Crenn took the stage, Rasmus Munk of Copenhagen\u2019s Alchemist talked about what he calls Intermission, an annual five-month closure that will allow him to reset things at his game-changing multi-sensory restaurant. He said his goal in Mexico this week is to eat as many tacos as possible, and he discussed how deeply he enjoys laid-back, casual experiences after years of chasing the best fine-dining meals. He said he might need a psychologist to explain how he\u2019s at Alchemist every single night it\u2019s open, even though his staff has told him that he doesn\u2019t need to be there at 2 a.m. to give customers the menu. He discussed the challenging economics, the long hours and the seemingly never-ending grind of fine dining. He said he wanted to break up with the idea that every night at his restaurant is like \u201cplaying the Champions League final.\u201d He pondered what Alchemist\u2019s lifespan is.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Lobster tostada. Andy Wang<\/p>\n

Apapaxoa is very much an opportunity for hospitality thought leaders to speak freely and provocatively, but what ultimately draws the crowds is the world-class food. L\u00f3pez\u2019s \u201cAmarillo\u201d dish of hamachi with yellow tomatoes and heirloom watermelon, Ruiz\u2019s \u201cRojo\u201d lobster tostada and Aldaco Silva and Prado\u2019s \u201cNegro\u201d chocolate dessert collaboration were showstoppers on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One night later, we were dazzled by Rub\u00e9n Mosquero\u2019s red snapper with white kimchi sauce and burnt-leaf oil, which 2023 World\u2019s Best sommelier Miguel \u00c1ngel Mill\u00e1n paired with Attis Mar albari\u00f1o, which is aged underwater in the ocean. Mosquero was cooking alongside David Castro Hussong, who served Maya octopus with beautifully acidic roasted tomatoes. Jos\u00e9 Luis Hinostroza, who made a soul-warming esquite dish with smoked crab, hosted the dinner at Hotel Xcaret Arte\u2019s Arenal restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Jos\u00e9 Luis Hinostroza. Walter Tot Junior<\/p>\n

This dinner was a collaboration of influential chefs who always keep things moving. Mosquero was Atomix\u2019s head of research and development before returning to Spain, opening EMi in Madrid with Mill\u00e1n (previously at DiverXO) and earning a Michelin star in just four months. Castro Hussong, whose Fauna in Valle de Guadalupe was named Mexico\u2019s Best Restaurant in 2023 by Latin America\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants, recently debuted Zula inside Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Nauka in Riviera Nayarit. And he\u2019s working to open La Moracha in Los Angeles this fall. Hinostroza, of course, is best known for Arca in Tulum and is part of Hotel Xcaret Arte\u2019s arsenal of famous chefs that also includes L\u00f3pez and Jonat\u00e1n G\u00f3mez Luna.<\/p>\n

But again, the biggest spotlight at Apapaxoa this year\u2014whether she wanted it or not\u2014is on Crenn. Crenn is the first and only woman in the United States with three Michelin stars. In 2016, she was named the World\u2019s Best Female Chef by 50 Best, an honor she did not want and says she does not believe should even exist, given that it\u2019s a reminder of gender bias.<\/p>\n

Crenn isn\u2019t thinking about accolades as she prepares to open her next restaurant, Melbourne\u2019s Petit Crenn, which will debut in October. It\u2019s inspired by her grandmother\u2019s \u201chomey\u201d cooking and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s simple,\u201d Crenn tells Observer of her first restaurant in Australia. \u201cIt\u2019s communal. It\u2019s a home away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petit Crenn is a resurrection of a restaurant\u00a0 Crenn ran in San Francisco that closed during the pandemic. Crenn, who then used the former Petit Crenn space in San Francisco to cook meals for food-insecure communities, loves that the restaurant industry is often about second chances. In Melbourne, she\u2019ll have pastries and tartines in the morning and sandwiches and salad for lunch. She\u2019ll serve homestyle bistro dishes like duck confit at night. She\u2019ll focus on having the best bread, the best butter and the best coffee, as well as great wine and great cocktails.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe that when we care about the things around us, we can be successful,\u201d Crenn said. \u201cWe can be avant-garde, but we have to care about the foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"At<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chef Dominique Crenn speaks at Mexico\u2019s Apapaxoa Festival. Walter Tot Junior Even at an extravaganza with chefs who collectively hold more than 70 Michelin stars, Dominique Crenn rises above it all. But on Saturday, Sept. 19, when she was honored at a tribute dinner during the Apapaxoa food festival in Mexico, Crenn stressed that accolades<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1505],"tags":[8418,8419,1836,323,8416,1510,8420,8411,8421,335,326,8417,8422,310,327,8412,7738,2052,8415,8423,328,1898,8413,8414,8424],"class_list":["post-7845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dominique-crenn","tag-alchemist","tag-arca","tag-atelier-crenn","tag-chefs","tag-david-castro-hussong","tag-dominique-crenn","tag-fauna","tag-gaby-ruiz","tag-hotel-xcaret-arte","tag-international","tag-interviews","tag-jonatu00e1n-gu00f3mez-luna","tag-la-moracha","tag-lifestyle","tag-lifestyle-interviews","tag-maribel-aldaco-silva","tag-mexico","tag-michelin-guide","tag-miguel-u00c1ngel-millu00e1n","tag-nauka","tag-nightlife-dining","tag-petit-crenn","tag-rasmus-munk","tag-rubu00e9n-mosquero","tag-zula"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117315887599560008","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}