Christian Constant (born 18 May 1950) is a French

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

and entrepreneur.

Early life and career

Christian Constant was born in

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...

in the region of

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; or ; ) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark. ...

. He began his career as a chef in 1988 at the Hôtel Crillon in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Afterwards he was appointed chef at the Hôtel Ritz. In 1996 he founded his first restaurant ''Le Violon d'Ingres'' which received one

Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

. Today he owns six restaurants, each with its own style and chef : ''Le Violon d'Ingres'', ''Le Café Constant'', ''Les Cocottes Tour Eiffel, Les Cocottes Arc-de-Triomphe'', restaurants offering traditional recipes cooked in Staub

Dutch oven A Dutch oven, Dutch pot (US English), or casserole dish (international) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminium, or ...

s. All of these are in Paris. Since 8 June 2011, he has also owned ''Le Bibent'', a brasserie located in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, and near his hometown, since 2014, Le Bistrot Constant. All of his restaurants are open 7 days a week.

Television

From 2010 to 2014, he was a member of the jury in the French version of ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

'' on M6. He also presented on the same channel a similar short program titled ''Astuce de Chef'' alternatively with the other members of the jury, where he shows some cooking tips while preparing a dish.

References

External links

Site of the Maison Constant

Le Violon d'Ingres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constant, Christian 1950 births French chefs People from Montauban Living people Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit