Dahoui Chef
DAHOUI CHEF
Maison Dahoui, Authorship Bistro Cuisine
Restauratrice and chef, entrepreneur of seven very successful bistros, matchmaker, mother of Noah, empowered and happy woman.
@ChefDahoui is a Brazilian at heart, citizen of the world and entrepreneurial by nature
For 23 years running Ruella, her name has always been well known in Brazilian cuisine; but since 2016, her face and talent have broken through this frontier and taken shape and a lot of fans as she was discovered on TV and debuted at SBT as host of Hell’s Kitchen. Dahoui was the first female chef in the world to run the culinary reality show, a successful franchise in 18 countries.
DAHOUI'S STORY
A Pernambuco citizen from Franco-Italian origin, Danielle Dahoui spent part of her childhood in the Northeast and moved to Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, with her mother and stepfather. She had little contact with her French father (who died in 2009), whom she only met at the age of 19. With her grandmother, daughter of Italians, she learned about sewing and cooking, always having the table and the house full.
Entrepreneurial, at 17 had theme parties and even owned a confection at 19. At 21, changed everything. She went to the south of Bahia, where she discovered her gift of cooking, serving and sharing while working in a beach tent that became a point. Springboard to go in courage and determination to France the following year to study photography and gastronomy, without having money or speaking French.
Back in Brazil, she opened the first Ruella bistro in Sao Paulo in 1996. She showed tact when she ventured into a macho environment being a young, self-taught woman chef. She formed her plural team without any prejudice, turning them into great professionals – many continue to work with her to this day. Between 1998 and 2015, she opened, decorated and commanded six other successful restaurants on the Rio-São Paulo axis, offering a unique experience with her way of cooking and welcoming customers. It pioneered using the restaurant as a stage for mini-weddings, as well as its concern with waste recycling and sustainability.
Already hooked on TV, as host of Hell’s Kitchen and BBQ Brazil jury – both at SBT – Dahoui decided to sell two of her restaurants and just keep the first Ruella, Vila Olimpia. At age 50, she boldly bet on her new vocation: being in front of the cameras and creating TV content, such as showrunner. Danielle Dahoui often says “she is it and a lot of other things.” This is what we will know on the blog through her stories.
As Dahoui often says:
“Success is being happy, having fun and doing good without looking at who; always sharing knowledge to transform lives”