From modest apprentice in a small provincial pastry shop, Christophe Michalak has become, at 34, one of the most renowned pastry chefs in the profession. Nothing however, seemed to predispose this young man from Picardie to what the French appropriately name the “metiers de bouche” or in other words, the culinary trade.
Coming from an Italian family, he knew only rigor and an overwhelming need to succeed. As a child, he wanted to become a drawing artist, an indication of his already well-developed artistic sense; not being able to enter the Beaux-Arts, he becomes professionally active. “When I started at 15, I understood in a flash of lucidity, that one could give a lot of happiness with very little. You cannot be a pastry chef without being generous and loving food; my craft makes it possible for me to express myself through my creations; then, the desire to bring pleasure to others subjugated me”, he recalls.
At 16, he begins a collection of culinary reference books, which he continuously improves on. He also develops his memory for flavours, an essential tool for the master pastry chef.“I imposed constraints on myself; life fashioned me”, he admits. Graduating first of his school, he decides to learn his trade by travelling the world and its cultures.
With his usual humility, Christophe Michalak adds: «It’s not reaching the top that’s important, it’s to remain at the top». Every day, this eternal lover of fooddevelops his desire to surprise us and to revisit the great classics of pastry. We owe Michalak scores of desirable sweets such as the Religieuse au caramel beurre de sel, the Peach Melba Macarons or the famous Marshmallow Love Bears!
He goes on adding: “I dress-up my cakes as a couture designer would dress women up; the beautiful and the good are one and the same! The absolute joy of catching a glimpse of the sheer pleasure and anticipation in the eyes of clients has no price”. Sensitive and passionate, he decides to create trends but, above all, he decides not to follow them. Christophe likes to repeat this mythical quote from Bob Kennedy: “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
