At Mexico’s Apapaxoa Festival, Dominique Crenn Thinks Beyond the Stars and the Rankings
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’t be the focus when you feed people.
At a dinner where star female chefs like Karime López, 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’s important to consider “not who’s the best but what matters.”
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.
“It’s about knowing where something comes from and respecting the hands that touched it before,” Crenn said.
Creativity without ego is something that Crenn, who holds three Michelin stars at San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn, thinks about a lot.
“When everything else disappears, the title may not matter,” she said. “The star will not matter. Being called the best will not matter. What will matter is … how we treated one another, how we met people and how deeply we loved.”
One recurring theme at Apapaxoa, a six-day gathering in the Mexican Caribbean that concludes on Wednesday, is how the world’s 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.
“You can’t just go to A.I. and replace gastronomy,” she told the crowd during a conversation about women in the kitchen. “Gastronomy is people. It’s emotions. We need humans. You need to sit in a restaurant and have a conversation. A.I. doesn’t have emotions.”
Before Crenn took the stage, Rasmus Munk of Copenhagen’s 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’s at Alchemist every single night it’s open, even though his staff has told him that he doesn’t 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 “playing the Champions League final.” He pondered what Alchemist’s lifespan is.
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. López’s “Amarillo” dish of hamachi with yellow tomatoes and heirloom watermelon, Ruiz’s “Rojo” lobster tostada and Aldaco Silva and Prado’s “Negro” chocolate dessert collaboration were showstoppers on Saturday.
One night later, we were dazzled by Rubén Mosquero’s red snapper with white kimchi sauce and burnt-leaf oil, which 2023 World’s Best sommelier Miguel Ángel Millán paired with Attis Mar albariño, which is aged underwater in the ocean. Mosquero was cooking alongside David Castro Hussong, who served Maya octopus with beautifully acidic roasted tomatoes. José Luis Hinostroza, who made a soul-warming esquite dish with smoked crab, hosted the dinner at Hotel Xcaret Arte’s Arenal restaurant.
This dinner was a collaboration of influential chefs who always keep things moving. Mosquero was Atomix’s head of research and development before returning to Spain, opening EMi in Madrid with Millán (previously at DiverXO) and earning a Michelin star in just four months. Castro Hussong, whose Fauna in Valle de Guadalupe was named Mexico’s Best Restaurant in 2023 by Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, recently debuted Zula inside Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Nauka in Riviera Nayarit. And he’s 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’s arsenal of famous chefs that also includes López and Jonatán Gómez Luna.
But again, the biggest spotlight at Apapaxoa this year—whether she wanted it or not—is on Crenn. Crenn is the first and only woman in the United States with three Michelin stars. In 2016, she was named the World’s Best Female Chef by 50 Best, an honor she did not want and says she does not believe should even exist, given that it’s a reminder of gender bias.
Crenn isn’t thinking about accolades as she prepares to open her next restaurant, Melbourne’s Petit Crenn, which will debut in October. It’s inspired by her grandmother’s “homey” cooking and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“It’s simple,” Crenn tells Observer of her first restaurant in Australia. “It’s communal. It’s a home away from home.”
Petit Crenn is a resurrection of a restaurant 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’ll have pastries and tartines in the morning and sandwiches and salad for lunch. She’ll serve homestyle bistro dishes like duck confit at night. She’ll focus on having the best bread, the best butter and the best coffee, as well as great wine and great cocktails.
“I truly believe that when we care about the things around us, we can be successful,” Crenn said. “We can be avant-garde, but we have to care about the foundation.”
