Gerald Maridet | Produits Laitiers de France

Gerald Maridet

GERALD MARIDET is a welltravelled pastry maker. After finishing school in Lyon, he quickly took off for a career overseas. He worked in Indonesia, Guatemala, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Mauritius for large hotel groups. He then moved to Dubai, where he was placed in-charge of the Food & Beverage Salam Hospitality Group, opening the concept Deli Shops, starring a line of pastries adapted to the local market. From there he moved on to the Shangri-La, Kuala Lumpur, and the Al Bustan Palace (Ritz-Carlton Group) in Oman where he was in-charge of teams of 18 to 35 people. Since 2014, Gerald Maridet has been the Head Pastry Chef at Pullman Hotel & Resort in Jakarta, Indonesia.

What role does cream play in your baking?

Gerald Maridet :

Cream is like our hands and our feet, we use them every day. In pastry it’s the same – we need cream to prepare our recipes

How do you manipulate cream in your baking?

Gerald Maridet :

All pastry and confectionery recipes make use of cream, either hot or cold. The techniques are different and it is important to control the temperature.

I am mad for cream !

What are its uses?

Gerald Maridet :

Cream can be used for different pastry preparations such as ice-creams, fruit or chocolate mousses, choux or éclairs, for sauce bases, bonbons, and any kind of confectionary. It’s really varied and a chef is completely at liberty to be creative, but 90% of the time we will ultimately use cream

What is the best dish you've ever created using cream?

Gerald Maridet :

That’s a difficult question to answer because each creation must ensure the best use of cream or for the people who will taste it. I would say that a good choux or éclair can really be satisfying and give me the confidence that I have used cream properly.

Cream: would you say that you like it a lot, passionately, or are absolutely mad about it?

Gerald Maridet :

Of course I am mad for it!

What is your favourite cream pastry?

Gerald Maridet :

A good choux with whipped cream infused with raspberry pips. Or a good tart with dark chocolate ganache, which of course must be with cream. It’s very silky on the palate.