Dominique Ansel may have shot to stardom because of the Cronut, but there is a lot more to the chef than just a single pastry. In fact he is so prolific these days that he doesn't always have time to make it to the Cronut line, which has not waned at all in popularity over the last two years. Having recently opened a new West Village cafe, replete with ice cream stand and reservation-only dessert tasting table, as well as an outpost in Tokyo, Japan, Ansel has a lot on his plate.
On the day that Eater tagged along, Ansel's head chef from Dominique Ansel Kitchen was in Japan overseeing the new store so Dominique was minding the shop. This includes a 5 a.m. start time and lots of hands-on pastry making. Ansel is heavily involved in production but he takes time out to handle plenty of managerial duties such as meeting with construction workers, taking office meetings, and taste testing future menu items. If you wonder how the chef stays so svelte surrounded as he is by so much sugar and butter the numerous flights of stairs he traverses alone might be the answer. He goes from kitchen to boardroom to ice cream stand and even acts as delivery driver, taking freshly baked pastries from the West Village to his Soho shop. Here is a day in Ansel's life in the 33 photos...
