Ariane Daguin: an American success story

Ariane Daguin grew up in Southwest of France in the Michelin star kitchens of her famous father, Chef Andre Daguin. Working alongside her family, she did everything that was necessary to experience the restaurant business firsthand. In 1978 she left France to make her own way and travelled to the U.S. to study journalism at Columbia University. Ariane worked part time for a New York pate producer, to help pay her school tuition. One day, two farmers came in to see if the establishment was interested in purchasing their supply of Foie Gras. These gentlemen had a superior product and Ariane knew that with her expertise they could be the first farm in the US that used the entire duck for processing. With her help promoting their merchandise, they became experts at producing a quality, humane product, which was everything Ariane believed good food should be, and the company, D’Artagnan was formed.

D’Artagnan has become a powerhouse of a business, supplying not only restaurants, but home chefs looking for quality specialty products through online orders. The refrigerated warehouse in New Jersey is the size of a football field, clean, and well kept. When we toured the distribution center we learned that first priority is efficiency; food has to get out to the customer in a timely manner because it is all fresh from local farmers and co-ops who use organic and free range practices. D’Artagnan has warehouses in Chicago, Houston and Union, New Jersey with plans to expanding next to either the south east or the west coast. Of importance to the company it the ability to get fresh, ethically sourced food to the customer in a timely manner. The business includes supplying restaurants directly as well as internet sales, generating over $107 million in sales per year. On our tour, the warehouse was full of quality meat, poultry, and a room full of mushrooms including our personal favorite: the five-gallon tub of black truffles which when opened smelled just divine! When asked about her most interesting product, with an impish smile Ariane tells the story about the time she ordered five buckets of Petit Rig, or snails, from a small farm in Texas. After they had been delivered, she left the buckets open to let the snails “breathe” and the next morning they had settled themselves all over the inside of the refrigerator! 

Growing up in the Southwest of France, Ariane says she knew consumers were very particular about their food and wines, often the search for the right wines to pair with particular foods of the freshest ingredients was a formidable endeavor. This is the culture she grew up in and Ariane works hard to recreate these efforts when she thinks about her customer in the U.S.  She insists on working with local farmers in each of her warehouses where her supply of poultry and meats are from farms that are not only geographically close, but ethically kept.  “When I arrived in US in 1978, chickens were mushy, not well cooked. Americans used freezers to store most of their meat supplies, while the French were visiting the local butcher or market on a daily basis for their dinner supplies.” Europe had more regulations, more concern for the quality of animal products. Twenty years ago, when D’Artagnan was just starting, the trend in the US restaurant business was quantity over quality, with chefs managing the affordability of meals over the quality. D’Artagnan was something new that changed the way meals were planned. Thanks in part to Ariane’s insistence on quality products, the current movement in fine dining establishments to provide a “farm to fork” experience illustrating the complicated art of gastronomy can be traced back to her vision.

It is easy to see that Ariane’s inspiration comes from her family business in the restaurants in France. Her insistence in the quality of product and the use of good raw ingredients was something she says she learned in her father’s kitchen. Barbeque kebobs of lamb with fresh rosemary, duck roasted with apricot marinade are just a few of her favorite dishes to prepare.  When she is at home, she enjoys hosting multiple course Sunday dinners with her friends, some of whom happen to be well known chefs. She likes to impress them with the quality and taste of her latest products.  For fun she enjoys hosting poker night where “finger foods” are served.  One can only imagine the types of delicious foods served at her personal table.  

Ariane has a daughter Alix who attended Cornell, and is now an Architect in the San Francisco Bay area. She says she often wishes Alex was closer but is very proud of the fact that her daughter has been able to start her own career. Ariane created this business on her own, with no help from her family. Her daughter probably has the same determination, to create a life of her own, on her own terms; another chapter of the American Dream done the Daguin way!