{"id":863999,"date":"2026-06-18T17:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=863999"},"modified":"2026-06-18T17:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:02:15","slug":"south-african-chef-receives-one-of-the-french-republics-most-prestigious-state-honours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/863999\/south-african-chef-receives-one-of-the-french-republics-most-prestigious-state-honours\/","title":{"rendered":"South African receives one of the French Republic’s most prestigious state honours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African chef Chantel Dartnall has been knighted in France, having been appointed Chevalier de l\u2019Ordre national du M\u00e9rite<\/em> by decree of the President of the French Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ordre national du M\u00e9rite<\/em>, or National Order of Merit in English, is the second-highest national order in the country, after the Legion of Honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is awarded by the French president to individuals across different spheres, and can be given to foreign nationals. The Legion of Honour, meanwhile, is reserved for French citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The honour was established by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963 to create an award for French citizens and foreign nationals for distinguished civil or military achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It carries different ranks\u2014Knight, Officer and Commander\u2014with additional designations for the higher ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dartnall was awarded the honour of Knight (Chevalier<\/strong>) <\/a>in May 2026<\/strong><\/a>, among four other foreign nationals living in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dartnall is a multi-award-winning chef, having been named top chef in South Africa in the Eat Out awards twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has also been named the best female chef in the world in the Luxury Travel Guide Awards, and has ranked highly in The Best Chef Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is best known for founding her own culinary sanctuary at Restaurant Mosaic, a fine-dining experience housed at The Orient in Pretoria until 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She left South Africa in 2021 to join her family in taking over the reins of the historic Ch\u00e2teau des Tesni\u00e8res<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, a neo-Renaissance 19th-century castle and countryside holding in the commune of Torc\u00e9 in the Brittany region of France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ch\u00e2teau 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It exchanged hands several times in the following 150 years, ultimately being sold to the Dartnall family in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dartnall graduated from Prue Leith College of Food and Wine in 2000 and said she knew she wanted to work in a Michelin-starred kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was awarded a scholarship from the World Association of Chefs\u2019 Societies to study at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebration of French culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Taking ownership of Ch\u00e2teau des Tesni\u00e8res<\/em>, the Dartnall family\u2019s vision was to renovate the property over five years and transform it into a luxurious and exclusive hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also the new home of Restaurant Mosaic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ch\u00e2teau serves as a fairy-tale-esque setting for showcasing Dartnall’s culinary expertise. The restaurant is now pursuing a Michelin Star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s this love and celebration of French culture which put Dartnall on the radar for the National Order of Merit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As a South African who has always looked to France with admiration for its extraordinary culture, gastronomy and art de vivre, receiving this distinction is an immense privilege,” Dartnall said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is a moment that I could never have imagined when my culinary journey first began.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chef attributed the merit to not just her own passions, but also those of her family and the team at Restaurant Mosaic and Ch\u00e2teau des Tesni\u00e8res.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Moving from South Africa to Brittany to create a new chapter for Mosaic has been one of the greatest adventures of my life,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To be welcomed so warmly by France, a country that has inspired my vision of gastronomy for so many years, is a gift for which I will always be grateful.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that Ch\u00e2teau des Tesni\u00e8res will continue to be a place of convergence for art, nature, hospitality and gastronomy, “and where cultures can meet around the table”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I hope to continue sharing this passion and to honour the values that this distinction represents,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Images of Ch\u00e2teau des Tesni\u00e8res <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Chantel Dartnall’s cuisine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South African chef Chantel Dartnall has been awarded one of the top honours in France, by decree of the President of the French Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":864005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-863999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863999"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":864022,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863999\/revisions\/864022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}