Pierre Hermé : the Haute Couture pastry chef

WHO AM I ? my BIO

Pierre Hermé, the "picasso of pastry"

“I consider pastry as an Art, with capital A. It is a way to express sensitivity the same way music, painting and sculpture do”

Pierre Hermé

Pierre Hermé has been dubbed “the Picasso of pastry” by Vogue US, “the Dior of desserts“, “the Kitchen Emperor” (New York Times), “the King of Modern Patisserie” (the Guardian).

He has got his own wax figure at the Musée Grévin in Paris and his name appears in the prestigious Larousse dictionary

World's best pastry chef - 2016

In June 2016, Pierre Hermé was named World’s Best Pastry Chef, in New York by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, composed of 972 gastronomy experts across five continents.

Pierre Hermé is pronounced : [Py-air air-meh]

The ispahan

L’Ispahan, the iconic Pierre Hermé’ s pastry

The Ispahan is Pierre Hermé’s iconic creation: a large macaron, filled with fresh raspberries, lightly perfumed rose cream, lychee, and macaron shells.

He first created this pastry while working at Ladurée.

the "2000 feuille"

The “2000 feuille”: the Pierre Hermé’s version of the French classic Millefeuille

Pierre Hermé’s take on the classic millefeuille is the “2000 feuille” : a crisp caramelized pastry layers with a rich praline pastry cream and a thin layer of chocolate.

French macarons elevated to an art form

Pierre Hermé has revolutionized the French macaron, transforming it into an haute-couture delicacy.

Some of his most notable creations include:

Pistachio macaron
Mosaic macaron : pistachio, cinnamon, cherry
Madarin : Olive Oil and vanilla Macaron
Infiniment caramel macaron : salted caramel
Infiniment Rose : rose flavored macaron
Infiniment Vanilla : pure vanilla beans, rich in vanilla flavor
Celeste macaron : passion fruit, rhubarb and strawberry
Envie Macaron : vanilla, violet, blackcurrant.
Macaron Frivolité : salted butter caramel and apples
Macaron Mogador : milk chocolate and passion fruit
Ispahan Macaron : Litchi, raspberry and rose : fresh rasberries with rose buttercream inside. A rose petal on top as garnish.

Other signature creations

Ispahan Cheesecake: creamy and delicately flavored with rose.
Tarte au Citron: lemon tart with candied lemon zest
Tarte infiniment Vanille: a vanilla pie with a sweet shortbread crust topped with a rich dense white chocolate ganache infused with vanilla and mascarpone.

Surprise: a moon rock-like dome of crusty meringue
The Rose Croissant Ispahan: a buttery croissant baked with a crunchy outside and a buttery inside. The outside is covered in a rose-flavored almond cream with candied rose petals sprinkled on top. The inside is filled with a raspberry flavored lytchee paste.
Chocolates

pierre hermé's creative process

“I need to write them, to make a design, but the drawing is a sort of blueprint it lets the other chefs set the thickness for the icing, the structure and the actual building of the cake.” – Pierre Hermé

He has transformed the world of pastry with:

a unique and original universe of tastes and sensations.
Two seasonal collections per year. And just like as fashion designer, Pierre Hermé draws his ideas on paper .
Surprising pairings, such as olive oil and vanilla or wild rose hip, blending sweet and savory.
Sugar used as a seasoning, not a main ingredient.
A quest for the highest-quality ingredients, creating desserts the way a perfumer crafts a fragrance.

pierre hermé biography

Born in 1962, in Alsace, eastern France. He is heir to four generations of Alsatian bakers and pastry-chefs.
Began his career at 14 as an apprentice to the legendary pastry chef Gaston Lenôtre and became a pastry chef at 20.
At 24, he was in charge of pastry at Fauchon where he worked for 10 years
Later joined Ladurée where he played a key role in transforming the brand into a global icon, reinventing the macaron with new techinques and flavor pairings.

In 1996, he founded Pierre Hermé Paris.
1998 : First boutique opens in Tokyo
2001:First boutique opens in Paris at 72 rue Bonaparte (St Germain des Prés, Paris 6).
2004: Second Paris shop opens on rue de Vaugirard; also establishes a training center with the reknown Ecole Ferrandi.
2005-2006: launched chocolate bars and boutiques in Tokyo.
Since 2010: Expansion into Europe, Asia and in the Middle East.
Now oversees two restaurants at the Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris.

awards and honors

First and only pastry chef named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
Awarded “Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur” by Jacques Chirac on May 3, 2007, just before Nicolas Sarkozy’s election.
Named World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2016 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants

pierre hermé boutiques in paris

www.pierreherme.com

Only two boutiques in Paris offer the full pastry selection: Bonaparte and Vaugirard

[Please check the opening days and times before your visit, as it may change]

Main Boutiques (Pastries available):

72, rue Bonaparte – Paris 6 (Saint Germain des Prés) – Metro: Saint-Sulpice – Open daily 10am-7pm – Telephone: 01 43 54 47 77 [You often have to wait in line to enter].
185, rue de Vaugirard – Paris 15 – Second Parisian boutique opened in 2004 – Metro: Pasteur (lines 6 and 12)
Open Monday-Wednesday 10am-7pm, Thursday-Saturday 10am-7:30pm, Sunday 10am-6pm – Telephone: 01 47 83 89 96

Other locations (Macarons and Chocolates only):

4 rue Cambon, 75001 – Macarons and Chocolates only
Metro: Tuileries
Mon-Wed 10am-7pm, Thu-Sat 10am-7:30pm; Closed Sunday Telephone: 01 43 54 47 77
39 Avenue de L’Opera – Macarons and Chocolates only
Near Opera Garnier
Metro stop : Opera
Tel: +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
58 avenue Paul Doumer, 75016
Metro: La Muette
Mon 1pm-7pm, Tue-Thu 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat 10am-7:30pm, Sun 11am-7pm
Tel: 01 43 54 47 77
89 boulevard Malesherbes, 75008 – Metro: Villiers (lines 2 and 3). Open daily 10am-7:30pm. Tel: 01 43 54 47 77
- 18, rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie (In the Marais – 4th arrondissement) – Macarons and chocolate only. Hours: Open daily 10:30am-10:30pm. Tél: 01 43 54 47 77. Métro: Saint-Paul or Hôtel de Ville
Galeries Lafayette (Not in the main store but in Lafayette Gourmet)

Selected books by pierre hermé books (available in english)

Desserts by Pierre Herme (on Amazon.com)
Pierre Hermé Macarons : The Ultimate Recipes from the Master Pâtissier”(on Amazon.com)
Pierre Hermé Pastries (revised Edition)
Pierre Hermé, Secrets Gourmands, Larousse, 1993
Le Larousse des Desserts de Pierre Hermé, Larousse, 1997
Plaisirs Sucrés, Hachette, 1997
Desserts by Pierre Hermé, Little Brown, USA, 1998
Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé, Little Brown, USA, 2001 (on Amazon.com)
Macarons by Pierre Hermé (on Amazon.com)