Ariane Daguin is a French-American business owner, author, culinary celebrity and educator. Born in Auch, in the Gascony region of France, she was the first child[1] of parents Jocelyne and Michelin-starred chef André Daguin.[2] She is the co-founder, CEO and owner of the American gourmet meat distributor, D'Artagnan.[1] She also co-founded the non-profit farm foundation All For One One For All Farm in 2021.[3]
Biography
Daguin was born on March 12, 1958, and grew up assisting her father with food preparation and gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to eventually launch D'Artagnan in America.[4]
In 1978, she came to America to pursue an academic degree at Columbia University. While living in New York City and attending school, Daguin was working part time for a New York pâté producer. In 1985, Daguin was presented with an chance to market duck and duck foie gras from the Catskills[5] area of New York, and she launched D'Artagnan. As the company grew, it also started marketing other poultry that held to a standard of no hormones, no cages, no stress.[6]
In 1988, Daguin gave birth to her first and only child, her daughter, Alix Daguin.[1]
Daguin has appeared on many television shows, podcasts and has been the subject of numerous articles. She appeared on several television shows, including on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations for the 2017 "Holiday Special" Episode. Bourdain also named his only daughter after Daguin.[7]
The company was the first in America to distribute fresh foie gras.[5][8] The company was one the first to commercialise organic chicken in the USA, even though the USDA hadn't yet defined organic.
Later professional career
D'Artagnan
In August 2005, Daguin bought out her co-founder. The company then started growing rapidly, reaching record sales of $50 million in 2008[9] and then ballooning to $130 million in revenue in 2019.[10]
Some of the major milestones included creating and introducing the Rohan duck breed in 2011,[11] and opening an additional four warehouses and distribution centers.
