.Alain Ducasse.

Alain Ducasse was born on September 13, 1956 on a farm located in southwest France. Ducasse’s parents owned a farm in Castelsarrasin, where the family not only grew vegetables but also raised geese, ducks and turkeys. Though his parents wanted Ducasse to continue school and study, at the age of 12, he decided that we wanted to become a cook. Like many chefs today, Ducasse passion and inspiration began by watching his grandmother in the kitchen. In an article for the New York Times Ducasse stated that he simply was attracted to the smells that came from the kitchen. It wasn’t until simply four years later in 1972, and at the age of 16 that Ducasse received his first position in a restaurant near is parents farm. After working in that kitchen learning some of the basics, he moved on to work for Alain Chapel. Ducasse not only learned a lot from Chapel but also considered Chapel to be his mentor. Chapel’s nouvelle cuisine inspired Ducasse to only continue to become a great chef. It wasn’t till a couple years later in 1981 that Ducasse received a position as the head chef of La Terrasse in France. After a few years at the restaurant he received two stars in the Michelin Red Guide.Along with receiving his first two stars at La Terrasse, Ducasse continued to work at various restaurants. He also was able to earn restaurant, Louis XV three stars from the Michelin Red Guide. This was the first time that Louis XV had received such awards. It wasn’t until June of 2000 that Ducasse opened his first restaurant in the states. His restaurant was opened in the Essex Hotel located in New York City. It was only a year later that Ducasse received three stars there. Along with opening and working various restaurants, Alain Ducasse has written cookbooks even opened a cooking school in Paris for the general public. He is easily one of the best Chefs coming out of Europe. Along with other fine chefs such as Joel Robuchon and Ramsey who holds 11 stars in his career, Ducasse has held is own. Ducasse is known to be one of the only chefs that have been awarded 19 stars in his career. Today Alain Ducasse is still working to manage his restaurants and has taken a hold of the new veggie trend that has recently started. Being that he was raised on a farm, Ducasse knows how important vegetables can be. Ducasse stated recently “I've been trying to push the trend for 20 years," he says. "And now it is slowly changing." Ducasse recently launched a menu in London that is totally vegetarian that he says he wants to follow through to all of his other restaurants.