Douce Steiner grew up in Stuttgart with her father, two-Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Hans-Paul Steiner and her mother, Claude Steiner, a French restaurateur.
1988 Douce graduated from middle school and attended Eckersley School of English in Oxford.
Her culinary career began with an apprenticeship as a cook in the family restaurant, Hirschen Sulzburg.
From there, Douce went on to work with some of the top chefs in the culinary field, including George Blanc in Vonnas (three Michelin stars), Schweizer Stuben in Wertheim then under chef Fritz Schilling (two Michelin stars), Traube Tonbach Schwarzwaldstube with Harald Wohlfahrt (three Michelin stars).
In 1997, Douce graduated from the Hotel Management School in Heidelberg, receiving a certificate in gastronomy.
In 1998 Douce returned to Sulzburg with her husband Udo Weiler, whom she met while working under the tutelage of Harald Wohlfahrt at Traube Tonbach Schwarzwaldstube to continue working at the family restaurant Hirschen.
In 2008, Douce took the helm of the restaurant and in that same year, released her first cookbook Cuisine Douce which won the Cookbook of the Year award.
Most recently, in 2013, Douce was awarded two stars by the coveted Michelin Guide – a first for any female chef in Germany.
- 2 Michelin stars