Hélène Darroze is one of France's, and indeed the world's, most celebrated chefs. Darroze has scored what only a handful of female chefs have managed to achieve. She has 2 Michelin Stars and a highly successful restaurant on Paris's Left Bank named Helene Darroze, and now the talented chef is traversing La Manche to take up the Head Chef position at the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair, London.

Traditional French cuisine
Darroze was brought up in Landes, rural south-west France among passionate foodies in an area where food is steeped in tradition and history. Her family ran the Le Relais restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan which was first opened by her grandparents in 1895. Darroze incorporates a lot of the area's delicacies such as foie gras and truffles into her "traditional-with-a-twist" cooking.

Just call me Hélène
Profusely understated, she dubs herself a "cuisinier" - cook – rather than a chef and says she doesn't go in for machismo in the kitchen: "Everyone calls me Hélène. I don't like being called "chef", it's more natural for me to use my name. The respect they give me is through the quality of their work. It's rare to hear shouting in my kitchen."

Alain Ducasse trained
The former protegée of Alain Ducasse will take up the baton as top chef at The Connaught, after the hotel's £60 million (76 million euros) refurbishment is unveiled this June.

Stephen Alden, chief executive of Maybourne Hotel Group and owner of the Connaught, said: "This is a tremendous partnership. Hélène is a very talented chef whose intuition and creativity are second to none. She is also a perfect match for the Connaught where the French Gourmet heritage has always been a part of the hotel's exceptional legacy."