I don’t know about you, but I have awoken today with an abnormally large sweet tooth. I believe this could have been an effect of a weekend binge watch of Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Pastry and a fair share of Masterchef Australia. Therefore today, accompanied by a chocolate and raspberry covered croissant, we will stick to the sweet theme and introduce you to some amazing pastry chefs you should keep an eye out for.
The Up and Coming: Reynold Poernomo
The world was first introduced to Reynold Poernomo in 2015 during season 7 of Masterchef Australia. When just the age of 20, he placed 4th in the competition, impressed everyone with his pastry skills and was hailed the “King of Dessert” by the judges and competitors alike. Shortly after the competition, Poernomo opened KOI Dessert Bar in Sydney together with his family. The home-based dessert delivery business was already “founded” by his mother in 2012, but expanded into a full fledged brick and mortar store in 2016. A year later, his sweets empire grew with the addition of another KOI in Ryde: a mix between a dessert bar, production facility, cooking school and cafe. Since then, Reynold and his family have added Monkey’s Corner Cocktail Bar and pop-up bakery TiNi Artisan Bakehouse to their empire of desserteries. Currently, Poernomo has put all of this on pause to join season 12 of Masterchef Australia, where series favourites across all seasons have come back to compete for the win.
Reynold Poernomo is known for demonstrating meticulous technique, innovation and a flair for molecular gastronomy in all of his desserts, not to mention his incredible flavour combinations. If you are intrigued to watch him in action, tune into season 12 of Masterchef Australia to see him in competition.
Stand out dessert: White Noise
A fully white dessert dish featuring: White chocolate, coconut, jasmine and strawberries
The Rising Star: Jessica Préalpato
The first woman to win the title of The World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2019, Jessica Préalpato is also the head pastry chef at 3 Michelin Star Restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée in Paris. She achieved all of this before the age of 33! Her inventive style of pastry follows naturalite, a newer culinary movement enforced by the restaurant, which focuses on showcasing the ingredients used in meals and preserving their naturality in the best possible way. Préalpato has focussed her direction of pastry in line with this same motif, minimizing the use of sugar and elaborate decorations, ensuring that the essential flavours of the produce are celebrated in her desserts. Her delectable creations focus on highlighting seasonal local produce, often fruit, without the usual heavy creams, doughs or mousses, resulting in delicious, guilt free desserts.
Before arriving at this point in her career, Préalpato began learning about pastry from her parents, who are also pastry chefs. She decided to pursue studies in Psychology in university, but after a few months decided that pastry was her passion, and she enrolled at the Hotel School of Biarritz. After her graduation as a Restaurant Dessert Chef, Préalpato worked at a number of fine establishments in France, which also took her abroad to destinations such as: Dubai, St. Petersburg, Tokyo and Beirut. She has also penned her own cookbook: Desseralité, the name a mixture between “Dessert” and “Naturalite”, where she showcases some of her finest recipes.
Stand out dessert: Beetroot, Sumac & Amaranth
The Famed: Amaury Guichon
If you have never heard of Amaury Guichon, it is about time to change that and learn more about this amazing pastry artist. With an amassed Instagram following of 2.3 million, Amaury Guichon is the most followed pastry chef in the world, and for good reason too. His incredible life size chocolate sculptures and astonishingly detailed pastries are beyond jaw dropping. He focuses on the “wow” effect of his pieces, and this he definitely achieves. Whether it is through building a life sized version of a Grandfather clock with chocolate, or his Compass pastry, complete with a glass like dome, his creations big and small strike awe in his followers. Guichon started his career in pastry at the age of 14, and became the youngest Executive Pastry Chef in Paris at the age of 21. After this, in 2017, Guichon decided to go solo with his pastry arts. Currently, 28 year old Guichon shares his spectacular creations on social media platforms to viewers worldwide. He has also launched The Pastry Academy where he teaches masterclasses in pastry and chocolate arts.
Stand out dessert: The Rising Phoenix
1200 feathers, over 9 kg of chocolate to create the 1,25 m piece featuring a bold red, solid chocolate, Phoenix bird.
Hopefully the stories and desserts of these pastry chefs have satisfied your sweet tooth, at least visually! If you would like to follow in their footsteps and start your own pastry career, look no further than our pastry placements abroad! Apply to our programs here
