In recent years, Christophe Michalak will return to the screen on Wednesday 8 November at Le Meilleur Pâtissier. Find out what challenge it will pose to candidates.
This week in best pastry chef, Candidates will receive a visit from the Head Chef: Christoph Michalak. The 2005 World Pastry Champion, who is also the former pastry chef of Plaza Athénée and host of several TV shows, will be there to nominate his favorite among the nominees. This week, amateur pastry chefs will actually have to do just that Bringing to life, in cake form, creations straight from children’s imaginations. Krzysztof Michalak will have to decide which candidate he prefers and thus save him from elimination, or allow him to win the blue apron. While you wait to watch the episode, (re)discover the pastry chef’s bio below.
Biography of the child baking prodigy
Christophe Michalak was born on July 22, 1973 in Senlis, Picardy, to an Italian mother who was a nurse and a father who was a salesman. The only son (no, no, he’s not a brother Frederick Michalakprofessional rugby player…), the young boy sees his mother struggling every day to provide him with a comfortable living environment: “She worked twelve hours a day as a nurse without complaint, and she also did household chores to give me a decent education. Thanks to her, I have the nerve. The more people beat me, the more my natural resilience increases.” This role model of a courageous mother will give her a solid foundation on which to build her career…
Very early, young Krzysztof Michalak left school to enter working life. A begins Learning in the garageThen into construction and mechanics, but what finally tempted him was pastries. “I trained in the kitchen, and very quickly, I’ve turned to making pastries. “It was warm and smelled good…what a dream!”. A career he never seemed really destined for since his relationship with food had until then been based exclusively on canned ravioli, Couscous Dried puree and mousseline…
At the age of sixteen, he began his apprenticeship at the Chamber of Commerce of Angers and obtained a B.A Pastry Chef Certificate. His fate begins to overlook him since he came first in his promotion and shortly after winning the competition The best trainees. An award that opens doors to distinguished people Hilton Park Lane Hotel is located in London. He was quickly transferred to the Hilton in Brussels and landed a year later at the luxury hotel Negresco in Nice Together with Gregory Collet, whose vision of pastry became a real source of inspiration for the young man.
In 1995, Krzysztof Michalak put his foot (and apron!) into the very select world of… Fauchon To work with Pierre Hermé. He stayed there for two years before traveling to Japanin Kobe more precisely, as Vice President Gregory Colet To participate in the opening of a sweets shop. Krzysztof Michalak will tell about his Japanese adventure “There, I learned rigor. I was amazed, and I tasted wonderful things…” With this Asian experience, the young pastry chef sailed to New York as a consultant under Pierre Hermé for restaurateur David Boulet.
In 1999, it was time for the chef to return to France to apply all the wonderful techniques he had learned abroad. Thus it incorporates the prestigious Plaza Athens – Managed by the undisputed master Alain Ducasse – In order to pay attention to the sweets of seven points of sale. He stayed there for 15 years and perfected his style, but also a little of it The rock and roll side. His ambition? Pastry democracy And make it as fun as possible. The dedication arrived in 2005 when the pastry chef was crowned World Pastry Champion !
As a happy man, the pastry chef finds his biggest fan every evening, his wife, Delphine McCarthyThe mother of their young son, Victor. Did you say success story?
Where are its famous stores located?
At the end of 2015, the chef threw himself headlong into his dream: he opened his own restaurant Parisian pastries In the 4th district of Paris, in the Marais. for him pastries They all come under the letter K, which is a sort of nod to his last name. And so it is offered for sale classic(A large cake that combines the concept of dessert and tart) Be (Gourmet meeting between biscuits and cake), the Crack crack (A little sweetness with a crunchy milk chocolate base, and fudge with coconutpuffed rice with cocoa nibs), and many more! Customers capture these unusual delicacies and, above all, their impeccable taste.
Then the ambitious young man opens up Second store Rue du Vieux Colombier, in the famous Parisian district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In January 2018, his latest pastry was recalled Michalak Tea Room It opens on the eighth floor of Printemps and delights many foreign tourists visiting the capital. In the fall of 2018, the chef opened a pastry shop in (Omote Sando in Tokyo).. The Japanese can taste (among other sweets…) the famous caramel nuns Paris BrestOr even cosmic. The pastry chef opened his second Japanese address on March 20, 2019, in Isetan in one of the country’s largest shopping malls. Krzysztof Michalak presents his chocolate collection consisting of incomparable cones, delicious chocolate candies, mini Ks, as well as legendary klaklettes. Without forgetting the symbolic pastries and cakes offered by the pastry chefs.
At the beginning of the 2021 school year, the pastry chef will fulfill his childhood dream of opening his first bakery. It is located at 60 rue Faubourg Poissonniere in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, and is called Cobain. Inside we find all kinds of classic bakery pastries, namely breads, pies, brioche and pastries… all designed with high-quality ingredients such as PDO butter, organic flour, eggs and natural yeast… The bakery will open its doors at the end of September 2021.
What kind of pastries does he design?
True to his rock ‘n’ roll side, Krzysztof Michalak likes to stand out. Her signature dessert? the Cakes by metre. “A large cake always spreads its flavors much better than a small cake. When I work with strawberry tart, Rum babaOr a millefeuille or even a pavlova by the metre, these are the things that are close to my heart. This is my signature. Of course, we can also talk about cosmics, nuns… but Cake to share is my trademark“The determined chef emphasizes leaving the history of pastries with his very modern mark. Creative pastries are among Chef Krzysztof Michalak’s specialties, e.g A thousand sheets of paper By the meter on the slice and lemon tart, according to the book “Petits Secrets de Grands Chefs” by Veronique Andre, published in September 2021 by Hachette Pratique.
To achieve this level of technique, the chef chose to stand out from other pastry chefs through creativity Her own vision and her own story Through her cakes: “They embody my personality. They are the cakes that I love to eat. They are delicious and tempting. They reflect everything inside me. I like to feel good when I eat. I also like when the cake is well cut and slices easily. Enjoyed…” So no more pastries that are too sweet and too heavy, hello lightness in the mouth!
Where are its pastry schools located?
Thanks to the success, Krzysztof Michalak opened a pastry school in 2013 called Michalak Masterclass In which amateur students learn the basics of making modern and delicious pastries. With the support of this training structure, and Michalak Cafe It allows you to taste the chef’s pastries as well as display delicious vegetables. In his Masterclass workshop, relaxation is the key word: “Jeans are required, daylight is everywhere, and funk music is everywhere.” He wants to point out.
What are her cookbooks?
In addition to being an accomplished pastry chef, Krzysztof Michalak began writing recipe books and published his first book in 2007 entitled It’s a piece of cakethen Desserts that make me fall in love (2010), Chocolate that breaks me down (2011), My dream cake (2012) or even Better than Michalak. At the end of the year, the new kid on the block looking back at the highlights of his career should see the light. But that’s not all: thanks to his charisma and audacity, the chef becomes an essential figure in the pastry industry on television. Thus, in 2012, the channel Suits you He offers to take over the reins of the show My dream cake He is invited to implement a recipe in a private home, detailing all the techniques that must be memorized to make the cake.
In 2013, he was invited on France 2 to become a member of the show’s jury. Who will be the next great pastry chef?. His energy and talent make him a real darling of gourmets… who do not hesitate to like the photos, each one more delicious than the last, on his Instagram account.
