Ca
France

Born into a family of bakers and confectioners, GONTRAN CHERRIER had a nose for bread making from an early age. After his apprenticeship in Ferrandi, he shifted his focus to the family tradition and has been working at Arpège with Alain Passard then at Lucas Carton with Alain Senderens. A seasoned traveller, Gontran Cherrier now has two bakeries in Paris, one in Saint Germain en Laye, one in Singapore and one in Tokyo. While the wholegrain baguette reigns supreme in Gontran’s bakeries, he also has a guilty pleasure: sweet tarts.

What role does cream play in your baking?
Gontran Cherrier :

I’m from Normandy, so it’s definitely a product I enjoy. I use quite a lot and pay attention to quality. Depending on what I do, I like to look for creams with a particular taste.

How do you manipulate cream in your baking?
Gontran Cherrier :

Either I whip it, cook with it or beat it. It’s pretty standard. Most often, it is whipped, coloured and then flavoured with violet or flowers. The cream helps to fix the scent of the flowers.

I could not live without cream
What are its uses?
Gontran Cherrier :

I use both thick and liquid cream in baked goods and pastries. It brings out the taste; you can really feel a good thick cream that has been scented well. It’s also a way of adding creaminess, flavours or colouring. In fact, cream has a lot of impact. We also use a butter-cream mixture; it acts differently. A brioche dough with cream does not respond well to cold and does not taste the same.

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

A sugar pie inspired by my greatgrandmother. It is a brioche tart, with a heavy cream that has a strong scent and brown sugar. When cooked, the cream flavour is concentrated. It is super rich, but super good.

Cream: would you say that you like it alot, passionately, or are absolutely mad about it?
Gontran Cherrier :

Passionately. I could not live without it.

What is your favourite cream cake?
Gontran Cherrier :

Chou (puff pastry)! For its simplicity.

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Paris 18e