The South African chef named best in the world who owns a castle in France

·27 Feb 2025

South African chef Chantel Dartnall has won multiple awards and was named the best female chef in the world in 2017.

She is also the new owner and director of Château des Tesnières, a neo-Renaissance 19th-century castle and countryside holding in the commune of Torcé in the Brittany region of France.

Dartnall built her reputation at the renowned Restaurant Mosaic at the Orient in Pretoria, which has been featured among the world’s top dining experiences in multiple global rankings.

BusinessTech was fortunate enough to experience Chef Dartnall’s meticulous style some years ago and can attest to her skills.

Dartnall established Restaurant Mosaic in 2006 following a world tour of culinary learnings. But she described her love of food as starting from a very young age.

“Before I could walk I had already tasted my first langoustine,” she told Sunday Times Lifestyle in 2020.

“I remember as a child, my siblings would be playing outside in the garden, and I wanted to be in the kitchen. I got my first recipe book at the age of 4.”

Datrnall said she was inspired by her grandfather who exposed her to the world of flavour as child. He would be cooking in the kitchen and pop an olive in her mouth—a flavour most children would detest.

But her love of food just grew from there, ultimately taking her to the Pro Arte Alphen Park high school in Pretoria, which is a specialisation school focused on the creative arts, including culinary arts.

It was here that Darnall was able to cook every day and develop her skills.

She learned the basics at first—French terminology, knife skills and the like—but by the time she got to college, she said she had enough of a head start that she could start experimenting with her own personal style.

She graduated from Prue Leith College of Food and Wine in 2000 and said she knew she wanted to work in a Michelin-starred kitchen.

Dartnall was awarded a scholarship from the World Association of Chef’s Societies to study at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island in the USA.

From there, she went to London, where she worked under Chef Nico Ladenis at his three-star Michelin restaurant, Chez Nico, at 90 Park Lane in London.

She also worked with Michael Caines at Gidleigh Park in Devon, a two-star Michelin establishment and chefs such as Ladenis, Alain Ducasse and Marco Pierre.

She finally founded her own culinary sanctuary in Restaurant Mosaic, which found a home at The Orient in Pretoria until 2021.

Dartnall has been named top chef in South Africa in the Eat Out awards twice, the best female chef in the world in the Luxury Travel Guide Awards, and has ranked highly in The Best Chef Awards—being onf only three women in the top 50.

A castle in France

Having spent 15 years honing her craft and building a reputation as one of the best chefs in South Africa and the world, Dartnall left South Africa in 2021 to join her family in taking over the reins of the historic Château des Tesnières.

The château was built in the 1860s by count Ferdinand de Langle and his brother Alphonse, with the property having been in the family since as far back as 1697.

It exchanged hands several times in the following 150 years, first through inheritance in the family and then through acquisition after World War II, when the land was abandoned and left to decay.

A Parisian couple acquired and repaired the property in 1976 and were its caretakers until their passing in the early 2000s.

A Dutch couple then acquired it, turning it into a bed and breakfast, before selling it to the Dartnall family in 2021.

The Dartnall family’s vision was to renovate the historic property over five years and transform it into a luxurious and exclusive hotel, serving as the new home of Restaurant Mosaic.

The project is set for completion in “spring 2025” with the restaurant set to open in 2025/26.