Jaewook Ko | Produits Laitiers de France

Jaewook Ko

Chef JAEWOOK KO, who is quite passionate about pastries, joined the Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2010. After working in France for a while (Pierre Hermé, Bon Marché), he opened his first shop, Mille Gâteaux in Korea, known for its exceptional Mille-Feuille. He opened his second patisserie called Gâteau Voyage in 2015. Since 2015, he has been a panellist for the pastry-making seminars of the “Windows Bakery Collection” trade fair, as well as the “A-Chef ” culinary academy. He is also a professor of pastrymaking at the “SK New School” culinary academy

How important is cream in your pastry-making?

Jaewook Ko :

There is no doubt that cream gives my pastries a unique sparkling and light texture. This is what makes it a crucial aspect of my pastry-making as it allows me to obtain my desired textures of cream.

How do you process and use cream?

Jaewook Ko :

As far as pastries go, I use cream for my toffees, be it chocolate or vanilla. I use it to make mousse for my desserts, and ganache for my macaroons.

Cream reminds me of purity, whiteness as well as lightness.

What does cream remind you of?

Jaewook Ko :

When I think of cream, it reminds me of purity, whiteness as well as lightness.

What is your favourite cream cake? Which of your creations best highlights the role of cream?

Jaewook Ko :

My favourite cream cake is Rum Baba. It is a typical French dessert covered with a layer of Chantilly cream. It just has to be enjoyed with cream as it takes the dessert to a whole other level, and is delicious. It is my absolute favourite! As far as my creations are concerned, I made this pastry called Double Vanilla with a vanilla and white chocolate ganache covered with vanilla Chantilly cream. Personally, this is my most beautiful interpretation of cream.

Any advice on how to use/ handle cream for your peers?

Jaewook Ko :

It is very important to pay attention to the temperature at which you use cream as it totally depends on how you want to use it. So if you want to whip cream, it must be cold. However it must be heated if you want to infuse the cream, and it is very important that the temperature be controlled. If you overheat, it just won’t taste the same. Controlling the temperature helps retain the flavours and the peculiarities of the cream.