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Dominique Ancel
Pastry chef
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Dominique Ansel's most durable credential is the pastry kitchen itself. The cleanest shorthand is still the one attached to Daniel in New York City, where he was head pastry chef from 2006–2011, but the work behind that title is broader than any single room. Across France, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, and Paris, Ansel has built a career on repetition, control, and the ability to keep pastry exact while scaling it into different formats.
Coming Up
The early work starts in the ordinary conditions that shape most serious cooks: service, pace, and the need to get things right the first time. Dominique Ansel began as a cook at Local restaurant in Beauvais, France, then moved through apprentice cook / pastry cook roles at Various local restaurants in Beauvais, France, before carrying that training into mandatory military service in French Guiana as cook at Community program. Paris sharpened the pastry side. At Pâtisserie Peltier in Paris, France, and later at Fauchon in Paris, France, Ansel worked in rooms where pace and finish are part of the job description. These posts helped define the professional language that would follow him: precision, restraint, and attention to texture and structure. In pastry, those habits are not decorative. They are the work. The Daniel years in New York City mark the move from formation to central responsibility. From 2006–2011, Dominique Ansel served as executive pastry chef at Daniel in New York City, USA, a role that put him in one of the city’s most closely watched dining rooms and made consistency part of the public record. After that, the work shifted into ownership and wider geography. He became owner at Dominique Ansel Bakery Los Angeles in The Grove, Los Angeles, USA (2017–2020), and owner at Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel in Hong Kong (2019–2024), extending the same pastry framework into new markets. The current list of addresses reflects expansion, but not a change in trade. Dominique Ansel is owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery (since 2011), owner of Dominique Ansel Workshop (since 2021), owner of Dominique Ansel Las Vegas (since 2022), owner of Dominique Ansel Marché (since 2024), and owner of Papa d'Amour (since 2025). The through-line is continuity: pastry remains the center, even as the footprint changes.
Where They Are Now
He is a pastry chef.
Signature
Dominique's signature dishes include Cronut™.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Dominique
What is Dominique Ansel's current role?
As of 2026, Dominique Ansel is head pastry chef.
What recognition has Dominique Ansel received?
World's Best Pastry Chef (2017).
