Patisserie

The inspiration behind the modern pâtissier is Gaston Lenôtre. Known by the French as the ‘gentleman pâtissier’, he is widely credited with rejuvenating the world of patisserie in the 1960s by using less flour and sugar, opting instead for lightened mousses and taking advantage of technical innovations such as flash-freezing and gelatine. In the words of Pierre Hermé, Lenôtre ‘dusted, lightened and modernized the heavy pastries of the 1950s’.

In the 1970s, nouvelle cuisine demanded a return to simple preparations and the freshest ingredients, and Lenôtre was frequently reported alongside the movement leaders (though his creations were certainly not simple). For me, he is someone who from humble beginnings has achieved extraordinary things, creating one of the first culinary brands and going on to train and inspire a whole generation of pâtissiers, including myself. In my younger days, I would take a night bus to Paris, just to look in shop windows such as his.