Dominique Ansel was born in 1978 in Beauvais, France. He is the youngest of four children and left school at 16 to work in a restaurant and train at a local culinary school, focusing on pastry. At 19, he completed his mandatory military service in French Guiana, where he cooked as part of a community program.

After returning to Paris, Ansel worked at Pâtisserie Peltier for a year and then spent nearly eight years at Fauchon.