Meet Etienne Leroy

Pastry Chef, Winner of the World Pastry Cup
Halluin native near Lille (France), Étienne Leroy recently won the Pastry World Cup with a spectacular rock’n’roll-themed creation. He tells us about naturality and unveils his tricks for a successful mousse.
WHAT DREW YOU TO PASTRY MAKING? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER THUS FAR?
After my tenth year of the French equivalent to grammar school, I lived for two months in Canada with one of my uncles, a baker. This is when I discovered the trade. The following year, I enrolled at Orchies’ cooking school to pursue a vocational diploma in baking with an additional course in chocolate making. I did my apprenticeship with Dominique Benoît in Lille. I then worked with Best Pastry Craftsman of France Stéphane Glacier for two years as part of my technical trade diploma. Afterwards, I joined Emmanuel Ryon—Best Ice Cream Craftsman of France—who was opening the Café Pouchkine in Paris. I stayed three years as the supervisor of chocolate and presentation. After a quick transition at the the hospitality school of Lausanne where I worked with Best Baker Craftsman of France Franck Michel, I entered the Cap-Eden-Roc Hotel in Antibes as sous-Chef in 2014. Since that year,I have been developing a training programme in France and around the world.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS AND PASTRIES?
I love working with dried fruits, hazelnut and pecan nut as they add delicacy and texture straight away. My favourite pastry would have to be the Saint-Honoré, in its classic version as well as revamped.
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE THE ROCK’N’ROLL THEME WHICH LED YOU TO WIN THE GOLD MEDAL AT THE 2017 WORLD PASTRY CUP?
With Bastien Girard and Jean-Thomas Schneider, we quickly agreed on the theme. The work of sugar and chocolate allows to give a realistic dimension to objects. So, we decided to recreate a scene from a concert with a drummer and a guitarist by taking advantage of the elements imposed by the contest’s rules such as the sugar rose. The link with Guns N’ Roses was so obvious!
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE NATURALITY?
In my opinion, naturality always connotes product quality, homemade. Also, it leads to working the product at its source as much as possible for instance favouring raw fruit to fruit puree. This is how Chefs develop their own identity. Indeed, each approaches the product differently. Therefore, to defend naturality is to fight standardisation. Furthermore, this allows to discover new local products and work with small producers. At the Cap-Eden-Roc Hotel, a retired woman was our wild
berry supplier.
WHAT ARE YOUR TRICKS TO MAKE A MOUSSE SUCCESSFULLY?
The secret lies in the consistency of the cream which must be semi whipped. You should not whip it too tight and make sure to whip it in a bird’s beak.
The temperature while mixing is very important as well.
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ELLE & VIRE PROFESSIONNEL® BRAND?
Elle & Vire Professionnel ® has been supporting me since I started baking.
The Excellence Whipping Cream, the Sublime, Cream with Mascarpone, the Original American Cream Cheese and the many butters are product I use daily.

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lamaisondelexcellence@savencia.com
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