With restaurants across the world – spanning Paris, London, and Marrakech – her flagship, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, continues to hold the prestigious honour of three Michelin stars, a legacy she is now elevating with the debut of a brand-new lunch menu.
In the culinary world, certain names transcend the kitchen, commanding instant recognition and respect; Hélène Darroze is undoubtedly one of them.
Known for crafting a 'cuisine of emotion', she adopts a simpler, gentler approach to cooking where natural flavours outshine any needless complexity on the plate.
Now, together with Executive Chef Marco Zampese, Darroze unveils a sophisticated new à la carte menu that celebrates the natural abundance of new season British and French produce.
The path to The Connaught
Hailing from Mont-de-Marsan in the Landes region of France, Hélène Darroze represents the fourth generation of a distinguished culinary lineage. Growing up in this world, her path naturally led her to the kitchen. After honing her craft under Alain Ducasse at the legendary Louis XV in Monaco, she broke with tradition at age 32, leaving Landes to open her first restaurant in Paris’s Left Bank neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
It wasn’t until 2008, however, that she took over leadership of the kitchens at The Connaught, tasked with restoring the hotel's tradition of French fine dining. Today, 18 years on, her eponymous restaurant is still regarded as one of the British capital's finest dining spots, and everything from the moment you step through the doors reflects that excellence.
Known for its warm yet undeniably sophisticated atmosphere, the space pairs vibrant Damien Hirst art with salmon-pink walls, classic wood panelling, and a sinuous flow of curved seating, thoughtfully updated in 2019 by Pierre Yovanovitch. It’s a room that, even years later, has never waned in elegance, still masterfully capturing the grace of its industry-leading maestra.
A new à la carte chapter
Designed to offer flexibility without losing an ounce of sophistication on the plate, the new à la carte menu marks a deeply personal chapter for Darroze: 'I want each guest to feel that this meal has been made for them.'
This new addition lets guests customise their choices from a daily changing lunch menu, beginning with starters like Cornish squid with pea, lomo ibérico, and lemon balm, or Acquerello rice with cime di rapa, Piedmont hazelnut, barbecued lemon, and Ardi gasna. The main course spotlights standout dishes such as the Newlyn John Dory, paired with turnip and a vibrant kaffir lime 'bagna càuda', alongside succulent Launceston lamb accompanied by violet artichoke, Pantelleria capers, and wild garlic.
Transitioning to the sweet course, guests can enjoy Lot-et-Garonne strawberries with buffalo mozzarella and hibiscus, to rich Peruvian chocolate enhanced by chai and crème fraîche, or Hélène’s signature Baba with cherry and sweet woodruff. For the final act of the menu, the experience culminates in a seasonal British artisan cheese trolley, paired with a rare vintage Armagnac from the Darroze family’s award-winning collection.
We spoke with Hélène Darroze and Executive Chef Marco Zampese to go behind the scenes of their new menu – exploring everything from their personal favourites to the art of ultimate culinary restraint.
1. The transition from spring into summer is often defined by the return of colour. With the launch of the new à la carte menu, which specific vegetable or herb are you most excited to showcase, and how does it represent this seasonal shift?
HD: One of the dishes that really captures this transition for us is the crudité of baby vegetables. It celebrates the incredible produce arriving at this time of year – baby radishes, artichokes, fennel, asparagus and many other young vegetables at their absolute peak.
What we love about this dish is its simplicity and honesty. It allows the ingredients to speak for themselves, while also evolving naturally with the seasons, depending on what our growers bring us each week. It is served with anchoïade made mainly with Cantabrian anchovies and tapenade , made with Taggiasca olives alongside our country-style sourdough, creating something generous, vibrant and deeply rooted in French tradition.
For us, this dish truly represents the arrival of summer: colour, freshness, texture and a sense of abundance on the plate.
2. Of all the new arrivals on the new menu, which dish is your personal favourite to cook right now? What is it about the technique or preparation of this specific dish that excites you the most?
Marco: The feuilleté is probably the dish that excites us most at the moment because it brings together everything that defines our cuisine.
It is a puff pastry creation filled with some of the finest seasonal ingredients available right now – morel mushrooms, green asparagus, lobster and veal sweetbreads – all prepared using classic French techniques and flavours, including a sauce enriched with vin jaune. The pastry itself is particularly special because of the cross-lamination technique used in the dough. It creates an incredibly delicate texture while requiring immense precision and craftsmanship from the team.
What makes the dish so rewarding is that it combines the three pillars of Hélène’s philosophy: exceptional seasonal produce, deeply rooted French flavours and modern French technique. It is luxurious yet balanced, technical yet still very emotional.
3. As we move from spring into summer, flavours become much bolder. How does your philosophy change when switching from delicate spring greens to sun-ripened produce?
Marco: As the seasons move towards late summer, the approach becomes more about restraint. When ingredients reach that level of ripeness and intensity, our role is simply to respect them and not overcomplicate things.
For me, tomatoes are the ultimate symbol of summer. I grew up surrounded by them in my grandparents' garden in Marostica, so there is something very personal and nostalgic about their flavour at peak season.
A truly ripe summer tomato already contains everything you need – sweetness, acidity, freshness and depth. At that point, the philosophy becomes about allowing the product to express itself naturally, with minimal intervention. The beauty of summer cooking is often knowing when to stop.
