Patisserie with Michel Roux Jr

I was born into a family of patisserie chefs.

Did you make these?

Yes, Chef. Yeah.

Good.

I was even named after Saint Michel, the patron saint of patissier.

That's fresh.

Now I'm a chef with my own London restaurant

dedicated to French haute cuisine with patisserie at its heart.

Despite its name, patisserie is much more than just pastry.

It can also contain fruit or even ice cream.

A great patissier is a scientist, an artist in food.

Nothing is beyond them in their search for the perfect bite.

Perhaps, then, what truly defines patisserie is the artistry,

the craftsmanship and the attitude that goes into making it.

I am passionate about patisserie.

Its flamboyance, its refinement, its Frenchness.

And to be a great chef you have to master those qualities.

On this journey, I will be visiting some of the most celebrated

pastry chefs in the world.

In French "craquele".

-Craquele.

-Yes, just a little bit crunchy. Not too much.

And I will be tracing the history of this luxurious confectionery

from its origins in revolutionary France, to the present day masters

striving for perfection on the plate.

I try to make it specially for you.

Of course I will sample the classics.

From the St Honore to the religieuse.

From the meringue to the mille-feuille.

All of them made from molten sugar.

Join me as I explore the sumptuous and surprising world of patisserie.

My father, a fully-trained patissier,

was head chef to the Queen Mother's horse trainer at Fairlawne Estate

where I grew up.

One of my earliest memories is the smell and sight of him

making ice cream.

A key part of the patissier's craft.

You used to wander all over the place.

And one afternoon at about four o'clock I said,

"Where the hell is he?"

And there was knock-knock at the door of the kitchen,

the door opened and who was there?

Queen Mum with you holding the hand of Queen Mother, and she said,

"Oh, Chef, this one must be yours,"

pointing at your little apron, which was a painter's palette.

-Awww...

-Yes.

My dad advised me to start in pastry just like he did,

and all the best chefs.

I was told it would serve me well for the future, and it certainly did.

It is said, that the French say,

that a good patissier will make a good chef.

A good chef will never make a good patissier.

-Why?

-Pastry is not unlike chemistry.

You have to be extremely precise.

If you miss 20g, 50g of flour, sugar, you put it in the oven and disaster.

It shows you colour as well. It shows you symmetry.

Pastry is something which when it is put in front of you on the table

it should revive your appetite.

So the creme anglaise just chilled down, into the cylinder.

One of my first tasks helping my father as a boy in the kitchen

was hand-churning ice cream.

Oh! That's heavy.

Ice cream is often served alongside patisserie,

and can even be one of its ingredients.

Faster! Faster!

God, this takes me back.

Oh, love it.

But I didn't remember it being this painful.

When it becomes very painful, do let me know. I'll take over.

Breathe... Out. Breathe... Out.

I'm thinking of a nice vanilla ice cream at the end of it.

I've had enough of this.

I've got to taste it.

My father's given up on me.

But I haven't given up on this.

Mmm.

Mmm!

So what is it that inspired me to become a pastry chef?

Is it a heavy, badly-made Eccles cake?

Or a rather lazy Bakewell tart?

Or, worse still, a shoddy paper bag for presentation.

Even though they share certain ingredients,

I can't see the iced buns, doughnuts

and custard tarts which dominate the British High Street as patisserie.

These jewel-like creations paraded on a French catwalk

are more like it.

Pierre Herme, a true pastry master,

has captivated the world with his creations

and shown just how far the French are prepared to take patisserie.

So why is it that Pierre Herme is called the Picasso of pastry

and that his desserts reign supreme?

Well, I'm lucky enough to have been invited to his hub

where he devises all his wonderful recipes,

and hopefully I'll get to taste a few too.

Herme has brought baking into the 21st century and raised it

to the heights of haute couture

in a dizzy infusion of fashion and patisserie.

It is not just how Herme presents his work,

but the cakes themselves are absolute perfection.

A team of bakers are taught how to make the creation

down to the smallest detail.

Just like this sugar syrup dew drop on each rose petal.

The level of craft employed in each and every delicacy

is what makes this true patisserie.

Herme oversees everything,

even specifying the correct temperature for serving the cakes.

No brown paper bags for this guy.

This gateau combines pastry, biscuit and mascarpone,

and no less than three different types of vanilla.

Even that patisserie classic, the humble macaroon,

which is as aristocratically French as a powdered wig

and a beauty spot, hasn't escaped Herme's unique touch.

The original macaroon is just egg whites, almonds and sugar,

and then a different filling,

but Pierre Herme takes it to another level.

Here, for example, we have green tea and sesame.

We have here a mind-blowing rich, dark porcelina chocolate.

And this one, which I've yet to try,

is what he calls a Japanese Garden,

and it's made with cherry tree blossom.

Mmm!

Mmm!

Herme's shop and kitchen are very familiar to me.

This is where I did my apprenticeship

more than 30 years ago and there was no question that it would be

anywhere other than in France.

Back then the place belong to another great patissier -

my mentor Monsieur Hellegouarche.

But is it just the French who employ such craftsmanship

and give such attention to detail?

Now, I'm in Paris and Pierre Herme's French,

and it does make me wonder whether patisserie by its very nature

has to be French,

and does patisserie differentiate itself from other forms of pastry

by its Frenchness?

But one thing is for sure.

That the delicacies here are far more sophisticated than a Bakewell.

Perhaps only in France would a patissier team up with a perfumer

to make his treats even more enticing.

Recently Pierre Herme has collaborated with the nose of

Rochas, the perfumier Jean-Michel Duriez,

and I'm here to find out a little bit more.

Smell is often just a by-product of patisserie,

but for Herme and Duriez, it is far more important than that.

They have even created a cake based on perfume.

Of course Herme doesn't actually add perfume to the patisserie,

rather he uses the same raw materials,

like peach, rose and spice.

I want to visit Duriez' laboratory to find out the kind of

scent combinations that inspire Herme's patisserie.

Apparently Duriez is going to put my chef's nose to the test.

OK.

I am very glad that my nose is working, and who knows,

that scent of lemon tart might one day end up in a Rochas fragrance.

These two alchemists are perceived to be at the cutting edge,

but in fact they are not the first to produce confectionery which

ensnares and seduces all the senses.

There is one man without whom patisserie would never have become

what it is today.

Marie-Antoine Careme was born in 1783,

just before the French Revolution.

Careme was the first celebrity chef,

introducing high art to French cuisine by creating extraordinary

patisserie structures for royalty and the nouveau riche of Paris.

He more than anyone elevated patisserie into an art form,

and transformed the eating of patisserie

into the realms of theatre.

His books are packed with innovative recipes

and amazing drawings which prove just how revolutionary Careme was.

This book is really precious to me.

Not only because it's an original Antoine Careme,

but because it was passed down to me by my father.

After a stint as a kitchen boy in a chophouse,

a pastry chef Monsieur Bailly took on the young Careme

as an apprentice.

He would have learned how to make the staples of patisserie,

such as croissant, brioche and madeleine.

But Careme wanted more.

He didn't want to be another artisan, he wanted to shine.

The moment could not be better.

The revolution had freed up the pastry chefs who'd worked for

the aristocracy, and cooks like Careme could go solo.

The pastry shop, restaurant and pavement cafe really took off,

and with them the spirit of modern France.

At this time, neoclassicism and romanticism were the mode du jour.

And architecture was to become hugely important for Careme.

It was amongst these structures that he found inspiration.

One of his favourite haunts was the Desert de Retz outside Paris

filled with neoclassical follies.

This rational, ordered architecture

inspired his work and informed his aesthetic.

Careme went so far as to say that

"the fine arts are five in number,

"to wit, painting,

"sculpture, poetry, music,

"architecture - whose main branch is confectionary."

Using pastry, marzipan and sugar

Careme translated the castles and temples he saw

into incredible centrepieces.

He redefined the very nature of patisserie.

It wasn't just pastry,

but encompassed elegance,

craft and spectacle.

His creations called pieces montees

were presented at extravagant parties here,

at what is now the Italian Cultural Institute.

I'm meeting chef and culinary consultant Didier Quemener.

-Hi.

-Hi, Michel. How are you?

-Good to see you.

-Good to see you.

So his great creations were actually made here.

Exactly. That's the original place where it started.

'This grand home belonged to the statesman and gourmand

'Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord,

'whose society parties were legendary.'

'It was Careme's job to impress Talleyrand's guests -

'including Napoleon and Josephine -

'with spectacular banquets.'

Careme was actually the first what we would call freelancer

for Talleyrand.

One of the first challenges

was to tell him to cook with seasonal products.

He would say, "OK, now it's April, May,

"this is what I want. this is the products available,

"this is what we're going to do."

And Careme would just start creating and creating

and just taking notes and drawings

and putting everything into shape.

And people would come, 80, 90 people,

and it would just, like, be a feast.

So it wasn't just about eating pastry,

it was all about the theatre as well.

Right, it was a spectacle.

I mean, you would enter as if you were going to the theatre

and you're going to watch an opera or something like that.

Then all of a sudden it was just magical.

Should you break it, should you taste it, should you dismantle it?

People would just be mesmerised.

Ladies and gentlemen of the kitchen,

this evening's meal consists of

eight soups,

eight releves de poisson,

eight roasts,

eight trays of hot souffles

and 40 hot entrees.

64 covers, ladies and gentlemen...

'Ian Kelly is an actor, author and food historian

'so consumed by Careme

'that not only did he write the famous cook's biography,

'but he also starred

in a self-penned Broadway stage play about him.'

And towering over it all,

eight extraordinaires,

eight temples to our craft

and to the glory of eating.

An Italian sugar belvedere,

four feet tall,

a Russian hermitage,

a Grecian temple, the Coliseum,

a galleon in full sale,

the Prince of Wales' feathers.

A romantic ruin of a Welsh cottage,

or how we imagine such a thing might be -

he's prince of the place, but nobody seems to have been there.

The Brighton Pavilion itself -

all of them made from molten sugar.

-Well.

-That was brilliant.

I really enjoyed that.

Truly driven.

He must have been incredibly focused and wanting to achieve.

Yes. But it's also an era when that was possible,

and in a slightly different way, because, of course,

it slightly predates the restaurant in a classic sense.

But people did care passionately about food,

but in particular about patisserie,

because that was the way you could mark an occasion.

A great meal, an important chef,

your skill as a cook,

your generosity and status as a host.

So that was the signal issue

for somebody who's aspiring to

greatness in the kitchen at the time.

His gifts are various,

he was clearly a wonderful chef

and that's what he became famous for initially

and as a sculptor in sugar and pastry

and he gets called the Palladio of Pastry

and he's very serious

about confectionary as an art form.

He was a great democrat as well.

And that's his legacy - the writing of these wonderful books.

Even if you couldn't...

You were never going to eat in the Brighton Pavilion

or, you know, with Napoleon or Josephine,

but you could have a little taste

of that world and that life.

And to that extent,

we can maybe thank him or curse him

for the trope of the celebrity chef,

but we can certainly thank him for saying,

"You can have a little bit of this yourself,

"anybody can aspire to this."

He coins the phrase in his first cook book

"you can try this yourself at home."

Careme's influence has not diminished.

Master patissier Eric Lanlard,

who trained with my father at La Gavroche,

is working his way through the great pastry chef's recipe book.

HE LAUGHS

Wow. My...

A little something I made for you!

Just going to slide it down carefully.

My word! That is unbelievable.

That's a proper homage to Careme.

It's beautiful. So how did you make that?

Well, I did it the proper Careme way.

He's famous for his piece montee

in his early age.

Base to sit on the middle of the table

and for people to pick petits fours

or sweet out of it.

So it's actually a dummy base,

because in the old days they used to be made of wood

and covered with royal icing and piping

and what we call turn sugar work,

where you whisk the sugar at the right temperatures

and you just pour inside a mould.

In his days, you would have a wooden mould,

but I'm using silicon mould

because this is modern times.

But, apart from that, the technique is exactly the same,

gold leaves and the decorations.

And very fragrant dessert as well.

Careme loved having the smell,

so he always put a bit of perfume in his piece montee.

And if you go across, you can smell,

I put some rose oil on the top.

-That's unbelievable.

-And if you think, that was over 200 years ago,

and look at these new chefs now

doing molecular gastronomy, what are they doing?

They're spraying the air. Nothing new. He was doing it already.

So the edible bits are these little pastries around here.

Aw, look at that. Oh, yes.

A pistachio financier, one of Careme's classics.

He absolutely adored financiers,

there are pages of financiers in his book.

Mmm.

Oh, yeah.

The rose is there, but it's not too strong. It's wonderful.

Absolutely delicious. Pistachio, nutty, buttery.

Creamy.

Delish!

Other patissiers began to copy Careme,

albeit on a smaller scale,

and so, from the Cour de Versailles to the salon of Bourgeoisie,

these sweet perfections were slowly but surely being democratised.

Careme paved the way for the patisserie boom,

which exploded in the latter part of the 19th century.

Creativity and visual impact were the key ingredients of success.

Rivals learned fast,

triggering a mouth-watering race

to provide the most sumptuous shop-window display.

Huge and often inedible piece montee

gave way to smaller, edible creations

and many of the classics we enjoy today were born.

An alternate litany of viennoiserie.

Mille-feuille, tarte,

macarron, meringue,

Saint Honore.

And the opera, another one of my personal favourites.

I've bought myself a little treat.

The gateau opera.

Bitter chocolate, coffee cream, and gold leaf on top.

Very extravagant, very Parisian and very delicious.

I shall save it for later.

Delicacies like these

frequented the homes of the 19th century well-to-do

and became a Sunday lunch-time ritual.

But although we may think of patisserie

as French through and through,

in fact the oldest patisserie in France was run by a Pole.

Stohrer was pastry chef to the exiled King Stanislas of Poland.

It was Stohrer who invented the rum baba,

another French pastry classic,

with a bit of help from Stanislas his master.

He brought back these brioche,

this yeast-leavened dough,

and it was a bit dry and he gave it to his chef to do something with it.

And originally he thought that it would go well

with Malaga raisins and Malaga wine,

and it's kind of evolved over the years

and now soaked in rum and served with Chantilly cream.

But Stohrer's religieuse is worth crossing Paris for -

in a blizzard in bare feet.

This showpiece example of the French patisserie canon

is made up of stacked layers

of chocolate-covered choux pastry and cream.

The name religieuse

actually means "nun",

due to the smaller version's apparent resemblance

to a nun in a habit.

The religieuse is often served up at ceremonies such as baptisms.

Whatever the size of the cake,

the intricate piping is a key part of the process.

I've made religieuse as an apprentice pastry chef,

but using the base here

and then the little one to go on top,

and the piping, which is very important as well,

but I've never actually made one like this.

I think it's majestic.

'Lovely though this one is,

'it's the stunning example on the counter which has caught my fancy.'

TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:

Mmm.

-Merci.

-Thank you.

-Ah, oui.

-C'est bon?

-Parfait. Merci. A bientot

Patisserie did not remain within the confines of the pastry shop and the private home for long.

By the turn of the 19th century it spread to a new social space,

the salon du the or the tea shop.

And the French women's movement followed closely behind.

The salon du the became a means via which women could enter

the public sphere.

This was hugely important as women were banned from cafes where

politics and radical ideas were cultivated.

One of Paris's most acclaimed salon du the is Laduree.

It deliberately associates itself with the glamour of Versailles.

They even provided the macarons for Sophia Coppola's movie,

Marie Antoinette.

She may have never actually spoken the notorious phrase,

"Qu'ils mange de la brioche," let them eat cake.

But it captures the philosophy of Laduree perfectly.

Selling over-the-counter aristocratic luxury for all.

The democratization of patisserie was complete.

This film poem from the '60s celebrates the marvellous

names of each delicacy.

Geographique, genoise, Paris-Brest,

exotique, palmier...

And shows just how much the French have taken patisserie

to their hearts.

..bourgeois, diplomate, conversations, financier,

puits d'amour, grandiose,

pieces monte,

St Honore, religious...

Patisserie is more than just a set of ingredients.

It has the capacity to inspire poets and film-makers.

In France, it is a shared experience which stays in the memory.

..baba, mocha, meringue,

sable, mille-feuille,

role, eclair.

I remember my uncle going to the other side of Paris.

The furthest possible shop

because it had the best Paris-Brest or palmier.

It was a quest.

But the cakes I remember from my childhood have continued to evolve.

In the 1970s one of the greatest masters of reinvention,

the patissier Gaston Lenotre transformed the texture

and taste of confectionary.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

He was another key figure in the history of patisserie.

And a close family friend.

Magnifique!

We're here in the suburbs of Paris

at the Ecole Lenotre, Gaston Lenotre was a dear friend of the family

but he was above all a true master of his craft.

He was the founder of modern patisserie.

Of nouvelle patisserie and his school now bears his name.

All great pastry chefs have trained here, including myself.

'OK, I only came here for two weeks.'

Lenotre reduced the butter, cream and sugar of patisserie,

replacing it with light, airy mousses and a sculptured aesthetic.

No-one before thought that patisserie could be this delicate.

Lenotre recognised the importance of training

and in 1971 opened the Lenotre school.

Now one of the world's most famous ateliers for pastry chefs.

Today the students are making a raspberry mille-feuille.

Meaning 1,000 leaves.

Creative director of Lenotre is Guy Krenzer.

Gaston Lenotre, he worked on a team

because he wanted to work with the best chefs.

So it was very important for him.

And he was like a father for everybody and not just for me.

He was exactly that. He was a father figure.

He give us something which is very precious.

When you come here, you are in the family of Gaston Lenotre.

So you are in the family of the pastry.

So it's not just doing a cake.

Celebrity chef Paul Bocuse said that Lenotre's

signature on a pastry was akin to that of Dior on a dress.

He's like Christian Dior.

He started to make collections of cakes

and he created cakes like Le Schuss in 1968 for example.

It was a cake and it was for the Winter Olympic Games.

Each year 3,000 trainees from over 100 countries take a

six-month programme at Lenotre.

You can't qualify as a patissier in France without having

undergone this type of intensive training.

Those who study here go on to work in the world's finest kitchens.

Every year, we teach our apprentice and they became world champion.

So we train all the people here to become the best.

I think that's the outstanding legacy of Gaston Lenotre.

And it's the longevity and the fact that the future is very safe.

If you ask anybody here, when the cake is not right.

They say it is not Lenotre. That's it.

MAN SPEAKS FRENCH

It's an awards ceremony, end of week.

Certificates.

'It is not just about the excellence of the products at Lenotre, but

'you can still feel how the spirit of its founder is very much alive.'

My experience at Lenotre reveals how cake making reminds

the students of family.

I am thrilled that just like my father

and I, my daughter Emily is now in France training to be a chef.

And again, just like me, as the first stage of her chef

training she spent six months learning the art of patisserie.

Beautiful array of pastry.

-A St Honore.

-Made by myself.

I think it looks the tastiest one there.

-Thank you.

-I do remember your father making cake.

On the big table in the kitchen.

Give them to me with a smile to put it in the oven.

Insisted I should taste it after and they were uneatable.

They were hard as bullet. But he was as pleased as a prince.

-I must say, his standard has evaluated for the better.

-Well, I think so.

I can eat now what he does.

-Just.

-More than just. More than just.

What do you think makes a good pastry chef?

-A scale.

-Yeah, it requires skill, precision.

Yes and I think the private service, in the old days

when the head of the house was interviewing for a patissier,

they would always touch the hand.

If the hand was very warm, no job.

It was essential that the pattissier should have cold hands.

That's true.

-Oh!

-I think you might make a chef and not a pastry chef.

-I think so.

I remember when you were making cakes

-and bringing breakfast in bed to your mum.

-Burnt toast.

-Sometimes, yes.

-I think as a young girl, you already had talent.

-It's in the family. It's in the genes.

-It's in the genes, my girl.

Not surprisingly, patisserie is a massive part of my family

but why does it remain such a passion for the French?

I have come to Angelina's, one of the oldest

and grandest tea salons in France.

To meet Francophile Dorie Greenspan.

Author of many books on patisserie.

Merci.

-What a treat.

-Shall I pour you a glass?

-Thank you. Can you reach over?

Can you smell how rich and creamy.

Dorie, tell me,

is it just the French that like to indulge in these wonderful treats?

It's funny. I'm American and certainly we love pastry in America.

But in America I'd be with friends, we would have this in front of us.

Someone would take a sip of the hot chocolate and say...

"It's so good, but I really shouldn't have this" or, "I feel so guilty."

I have never heard a French man or woman enjoy something

and then say "Oh, I shouldn't have."

And I think the French have a special relationship with indulgence.

That they really understand that something like this is special

and that it makes a day better.

And you need to have a little treat every day.

OK, so in England do you ever translate the expression

joie de vivre?

The joy of life just doesn't sound quite the same.

Isn't it interesting that that expression remains in French.

It remains in French in America, as well.

And I think that this indulgence,

this appreciation of pastry is part of the joie de vivre.

Yes. So this is the Mont Blanc.

The famous chestnut puree with meringue and whipped cream in it.

This is one of the signature pastries of the house. Oh, my word.

-Look at this.

-Can I even... It's not easy.

Texture's important.

There's meringue in there which gives a little crunch

and chestnut can be fairly bland.

It needs, I always think of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

So, they say that Fred Astaire gave Ginger Rogers class

and Ginger Rogers gave Fred Astaire sex appeal.

So I feel like with chestnut there's the need for Ginger Rodgers.

Dorie is right.

It is the meringue which gives the Mont Blanc that je ne sais quoi.

The French continue to be devoted to expanding

the repertoire of patisserie and developing it as an art form.

Whether in shops solely dedicated to the eclair or to the magic of

the macaroon, Paris is sprinkled with patisseries trying something new.

Some don't even look like confectionary shops any more.

We could be in a state of the art gallery.

One such example is Philippe Conticini whose boutique is

aptly named the Patisserie of Dreams.

It is a fantasy world reminiscent of childhood.

Conticini's shop is cleverly designed to enhance

the appeal of his creations.

Patisseries are presented one by one in bell-like jars.

It is no small claim

but Conticini believes eating his cakes can stir up deep emotions.

Mmm! Absolutely delicious pastries, but totally different to

Pierre Herme.

Pierre Herme's style is really having to think

deeply about the different tastes.

Whereas Philippe's style is very much immediate impact.

Straight away for me these are flavours that I remember as a child.

The beautiful smell of the yeasty dough of the brioche

and the croissant.

The caramelised apple in the chaussons aux pomme.

Just a little morsel of that and I'm straightaway in my warmest,

wonderful memories of a child.

And all of his cakes have got so much passion.

And so much meaning behind them.

MAN SPEAKS FRENCH

Conticini is famous for his Paris-Brest made of choux pastry

and praline flavoured cream.

It was first made in 1891 to commemorate the Paris-Brest

bicycle race.

Conticini has invited me to his kitchen in the suburbs

of Paris to experience

Patisserie des Reves behind the scenes.

Orange tart, with a vanilla biscuit.

Marmalade, I could eat one now.

But I'm not getting one. I've got to attend the master class first.

Philippe is going to be showing me how to make his signature calissons.

A calissons is a great Provence dessert.

Flavoured with orange flower water and oranges and almonds.

Why I use the pastry is to leave sensation and to feel sensation

and to make you feel the sensation.

This is my way, this is my life. And this is why I use pastry.

Philippe starts off with an almond flavoured

layer of biscuit in a mould.

On top of this he places a light, creamy mousse.

The next step is one of Philippe's trademarks.

This is very important. Crunchy hazelnuts with salt flower,

fleur de sel.

So this gives it texture and gives it a crunch?

Well, crunch, I should say in French, craquele.

-Craquele.

-Just a little crunchy, not too much.

We put again cream.

Next step, almond paste.

A little bit orange. I don't like to be vulgar with the sensation.

-I like to be subtle?

-Yeah, subtle.

Another layer of cream.

-Do you seethe difference of colour.

-Yes, very intense.

-Very intense.

And an orange flower flavoured mousse for the top.

Perfect balance. I have to put just a little bit on the top.

-OK.

-Once it is removed from the mould,

Philippe's finishing touch is a layer of royal icing.

'Flavoured with orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit.'

Mmm! Petit craquele.

-The little crunch and then a little bit of salt.

-Yes. A little bit.

And then the bitter orange.

All this wonderful perfume and it's not too sweet.

The sensation for me is superb.

That for me is the best calissons I have ever tasted.

Thank you very much.

-Superb.

-It is a great compliment from you.

-Aww!

OK, so I can take another part.

In the last 20 years, patissiers in France have rewritten the rules

and demonstrated just how versatile and artistic patisserie can be.

These innovative French chefs have been highly

influential across the world and have hugely inspired

the rising standard of confectionary here in Britain.

Just like in France,

patisserie has been seen in the same light as style, fashion and art.

One master patissier/chocolatier is pushing

the boundaries of patisserie in this country.

Perhaps even more than his French counterparts.

-William Curley. Hi, William.

-Chef, how are you?

-Good to see you.

-Likewise.

I am struck by the beauty of his work.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Inspiration comes in all different forms from different projects

that we're doing like this one here which is a chocolate mandarin

pyramid where we were commissioned to create three or four different

patisserie for the

V&A and we have this wonderful dress here which we...

-I was wondering why this was in your shop.

-Inspiration behind this cake.

Visually, I can understand.

This beautiful drape and your cake is sort of mirroring that.

Absolutely. Looking for the same sort of flow that comes down

and we've got the little bit of chocolate going around it.

And I guess like all things that are beautiful there is

a bit of a surprise with it.

And when we cut this open you have a beautiful jasmine creme brulee.

-What have you got there?

-It's a few of the house patisserie that we do.

That's cadeaux chocolat which is classic flavours, chocolate,

vanilla, rum soaked raisins.

Then we have a real tribute to my wife who is from Osaka in Japan.

It's a matcha Mont Blanc.

-I recognise it as a Mont Blanc but then with green tea.

-Absolutely.

Then we have an apricot praline tart.

Very classic, but I guess done in a modern interpretation.

Then we have a raspberry dome so we have layers of pain de genes,

fromage frais mousse and raspberry mousse.

I guess when we make something,

like the people who create different fashion,

the tailors in Savile Row,

they make it for you and I guess what I try to do

and I think a lot of people in my generation are trying to do is

when they create a cake, they try to make it specially for you.

For me, patisserie isn't just about that taste sensation.

There's more too it. What do you think, William?

It's a little journey.

Initially when you come into a boutique your eyes are going

to tell you if you want to buy something or not.

You'll sit down and your taste buds will then take over.

For me, I'm looking to bring various things together.

Some sort of texture in there.

I'm looking for a balance in different flavours.

And once you finish eating it you still have the pleasure going on.

So for example great chocolate will leave the flavour

there for numerous minutes after you finish eating it.

But you can still get the great sensations, the flavour combination

and profiles coming out of the chocolate.

I suppose I'm also trying to create a little memory for people.

So hopefully they'll come back again.

But they'll remember their little experience of the William Curley

patisserie which is really important for us.

It is clear to see how patisserie is able to evoke memories.

But for some it goes further than that.

It can be a major source of inspiration.

Christopher William Hill is an author

and playwright obsessed with pastry.

Not only does it remind him of childhood,

but he specifically writes about patisserie to appeal to children.

-My word, that looks good.

-It does look fantastic.

-So tell me, you are an author.

-Yep.

-But you find your inspiration from pastry.

-Largely from food, yes.

I'm from a baking family.

We had bakers in the family for about 200 years.

So I spent a lot of time watching my grandfather baking

and every summer my sister and I would go up

and spend time in the decorating room above the bake house icing

cake boards and making lots of creatures from modelling fondant

and eating the creatures made of modelling fondant.

And I was obsessed with food. Particularly cakes.

How did that then transform itself into writing?

I think the reason I started reading as a child was because of food.

I liked books that had food in them and if there was food,

I knew I was going to enjoy it.

I liked to feel that I was actually being fed by reading the book.

And it's the hope that I can do the same thing for children now.

Because it's something that you can really connect with.

"Suddenly, all became clear to the doctor.

"She had landed in the middle of a large square of strudel pastry,

"sticky with apricot jam.

"From above, a blanket of pastry was dropped into place

"and Dr Zilbergeld gave a muffled yelp as she was

"pinned in position by the mechanical pastry roller.

"An enormous cylinder of bright, polished steel.

"Her arms flailed as she tore at the pastry, ripping an air hole

"and panting for breath.

"xxx she screamed as her head emerged from beneath a pastry shroud.

"Wiping sugar and butter from her eyes she became dimly

"aware of a flashing of silver at the end of the conveyor belt.

"'The strudel slicer,' she gasped. "Yes," replied Osbert, "The strudel slicer."

Oh!

But that's how I would kill somebody.

If I had a teacher I wanted to get my own back on

if I had a strudel slicer handy I think that would be the way to do it.

Whenever I'm working on the stories I've got these big books that

I've built up and every time I eat something,

I tend to store the pictures in the book, so...

I mean, many, many marzipan wrappers and chocolate truffles.

Food everywhere. Because it just sets something off in my head.

Brilliant.

'I'm coming to realise that patisserie is not just butter, carbs and sugar.

'But a form of art. An experience, a journey.

'It offers a moment of self-indulgence and solitude

'and can even become a means of inspiration for artists.'

And although patisserie is quintessentially French, it is

really beginning to make a mark here in Britain too.

Having observed so many pastry chefs updating the classics, I am back in

my own kitchen making something which celebrates my patisserie odyssey.

I'm about to make a croquembouche.

I have not made one for more than 20 years.

The last one I made was for my daughter's christening

so that's a long, long time ago.

Croquembouche is a beautiful masterpiece structure.

Really made famous by Antoine Careme.

It's sweet, it's delicious and above all it is striking.

Croquembouche is choux buns filled with a creme patissiere.

A classic pastry cream. A custard thickened with flour.

And flavoured and dipped in caramel.

And made into...a tower.

And you build it up slowly but surely.

The caramel is very, very hot.

But it's in effect like the glue

and it sticks this whole creation together.

Ah! That's hot.

What is there not to like about this? It looks beautiful.

It's going to taste great.

'My take on the croquembouche is to add a bit of Englishness to it.

'So I flavoured the cream inside the choux buns with Earl Grey tea.

'And a little extra bergamot.'

Traditionally a croquembouche is served for religious

festivities such as christenings, weddings, communions.

And, I suppose, it's because they're so impressive

and because they're elaborate.

Ow!

'It is every patissiers nightmare that the croquembouche will be

'stuck inside the cone for ever.

'Or crumble into an untidy heap on the platter.'

Whoa!

Whew! Ah!

Right, well, it's holding. Just.

So now I need to decorate it...

quickly.

'Part of what lifts patisserie onto another level are the chef's

'personal embellishments.

'I have chosen to decorate the croquembouche with sugared almonds,

'nougatine baskets filled with clotted cream

'and strawberry compote...

'..and rose petals crystallised with icing sugar and egg white.'

Hey!

Wow. Look at this.

'For an extra touch of Englishness, I have topped

'off my croquembouche with sugar coated strawberries and baby scones.'

We need to tuck in before it collapses.

Strawberries are dipped in caramel.

'I can see now why there's patisserie for every occasion and every mood.'

Oscar, this is yours.

It's a delight and an indulgence made real.

An attainable source of surprise and wonder.

Our best days, our birthdays, wedding days, high days

and holidays wouldn't be the same without those brushed crumbs,

dabbed lips and guilty pleasures.

Without patisserie, I suppose life would go on.

'But how on earth would we celebrate it.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd