Dominique Ansel

Dominique Ansel was born in 1978 in Beauvais, France, as the youngest of four children. At 16, he left school to support his family, working in restaurants and training at a local culinary school, where he developed a passion for pastry’s scientific precision. Following mandatory military service in French Guiana, where he taught cooking, Ansel relocated to Paris. There, he worked at Pâtisserie Peltier for a year and spent nearly eight years at Fauchon, refining his craft.

In 2006, Ansel moved to the United States, serving as executive pastry chef for six years at Daniel Boulud’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Daniel, in New York City. A significant turning point in his career came in 2011 when he opened Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo, Manhattan. His invention of the Cronut—a croissant-donut hybrid—in 2013 became a global phenomenon, recognized by Time Magazine as one of the year’s best inventions. He followed this success with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Milk Shot in 2014, a warm cookie molded into a shot glass and filled with milk, further cementing his reputation for culinary innovation.

Ansel’s career continued to advance with notable accolades and expansions. He was named Best Pastry Chef in the U.S. by the James Beard Awards in 2014 and earned the title of World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2017 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, becoming the first American pastry chef to receive this honor. In November 2017, he opened Dominique Ansel Bakery Los Angeles, which later closed in September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He expanded internationally with Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel in Hong Kong in 2019, which closed in 2024. Ansel continued to innovate by opening Dominique Ansel Workshop, a croissant counter in Manhattan’s Flatiron District in July 2021, and Dominique Ansel Las Vegas at Caesars Palace in October 2022. In May 2025, he launched Papa d’Amour in New York, a concept exploring Asian bread culture.