Dominique Crenn is competing as a contestant on this season of The Next Iron Chef. She was raised in Versailles, France. She credits her mother for fueling much of her passion for cooking. Before going to college, Crenn traveled throughout Europe to learn the many styles of cooking from a variety of cultures. She moved to San Francisco, California in the late eighties and began formal training as a chef. From there she spent some time in Indonesia where she made history upon winning the title of the first female executive chef in the country. She returned to California as the executive chef at the Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach. She has won Best Chef of the Year (2008) for Esquire Magazine, and often caters private events for celebrities such as Sidney Poitier, Juliette Binoche and Sharon Stone. She serves as Chef de Cuisine at Luce at Intercontinental San Francisco.