How do you become a great pastry chef? “First of all you need a lot of heart, because otherwise you just can’t do a difficult and important job like this”: the advice is of Luc Debovefor some time among the “great”, among the most celebrated patissier of France, with an experience in hospitality giants such as Meridien Beach Plaza in Monaco and the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferratwinner of highly prestigious competitions (among many Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Glacier in 2011, the most coveted by any French craftsman). “To do this job you need a lot of dedication, because you can’t go wrong», Continues the patissier, who also has a privileged point of view in terms of training young talents: Debove is Managing Director of the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserieone of the schools in the network École Ducasse dedicated to learning French expertise in the culinary and pastry arts, which includes schools in France and around the world.
“The pastry chef is the one who is behind the scenes while the others are the protagonists of the party, what is never in the photos but is always there anyway. We have the task of crowning the important appointments in life: behind every one a wedding, a birth, a birthday, there is always a pastry chef “, says Debove, who in this interview explains how to become a professional.
Is it more difficult to be a pastry chef or a cook?
“We both cook, but in a different way. The cook’s work is more sensorial, the pastry is absolute order, and then we have the responsibility to leave the memory at the end of the meal: if we make a mistake, the rest goes up in smoke ».
How important is talent and how much is technique?
«Technique is everything, talent comes later: without technique a dessert, even if wonderful, will never be unforgettable. It is a mistake that beginners often fall into: one always aims to do something beautiful, tending to forget the taste. Wrong: in the pastry shop they have to go hand in hand, you can’t improvise. For this we need to study, and a lot ».
How do you know if a graduate school is a good school?
“You need to know it, know how and what it is taught: in a serious pastry training course, for example, a fundamental part must be dedicated to chemistry, because desserts are based on that, it is the basis for the harmony between beauty and taste. In addition to this, it is important that the school offers internship courses: a pastry chef is never enough for a recipe, he must see how others prepare it, observe and experiment. All these things are not written in books and to know them you also need good will ».
How did you do it?
«I have always had an immeasurable passion for this profession. When I knew I had to make a dessert at school, I used to make it at home first because I wanted it to be the best. I also participated in many races because I wanted to see others at work: learn the techniques, compare myself, understand how to improve. Competitions are fundamental: they are not used to win, they are used to observe. I started making them when I was 20: I was working and studying at the same time to become a pastry chef ».
How long does it take to become a pastry chef?
“It depends on the objective: two years of training can be enough if you aspire to stay in a laboratory, then you can continue with specialization courses depending on the level and the pastry sector”.
What is the path you offer at École Ducasse?
«It is personalized: you can stay two months, six, nine, or three years for a bachelor, which is a degree that gives all the tools of marketing and economics, as well as pastry, which enable a student to open a business on his own. In addition to training, students do internships in shops, restaurants, in palaceto get to know all the facets of pastry in depth ».
What paths does it suggest to those who do not have the means to enroll in an exclusive school like yours?
«I repeat: you need love for the profession. More than luck, it is essential to have the desire to get involved and to work ».
What do you think of the lack of staff in the restaurant business that is being talked about so much in Italy?
«The same happens in France: we too feel the lack of specialized personnel. Covid has profoundly changed people’s world of life: the spirit has changed, after so much pain we have rediscovered the importance of free time, of the pleasures of life. For this reason, in my opinion, jobs like the waiter that keep busy on holidays and late, and are very tiring, have less and less attraction. I believe that one of the trends we are witnessing in our school fits into this new paradigm: enrollment in pastry specialization courses is increasing, and among them there are people who did completely different jobs and now have chosen to change their lives and do only sweets. It is no coincidence: pastry is joy, it makes people happy ».
In your opinion, what role do low wages play in this “escape” from restaurants?
“I don’t think they are decisive now: they are always the same, in France more or less the same as in Italy. I don’t think you lack the will to be a waiter either. I repeat: I think it is a paradigm shift “.
In recent years, what has changed in people’s relationship with sweets?
«Pastry has always played an important role all over the world. Of course, tastes depend a lot on the countries, but from what I have seen in these 35 years of work they have changed everywhere in the same direction: pastry becomes more and more delicate and design goes hand in hand, because people are looking for lightness, genuine ingredients, suitable for new needs and increasingly sustainable eating styles. In general, we are more careful about what we eat ».
What will never change about desserts?
«The dessert remains the dessert, it is a symbol of the party, it is a special moment, a gratification, an opportunity for a break. Think of the magic of ice cream: it is for everyone and within everyone’s reach, it is the joy of children, it is a smile. Every time I think about it, I am more and more convinced that being a pastry chef is really a special mission ».
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Source: Vanity Fair