http://www.pierreherme.com/index.cgi?cws...6ph5057761

Pierre Hermé (born November 20, 1961, Colmar) is a French pastry chef that Vogue called "the Picasso of Pastry".




Pierre Hermé Paris® began in Tokyo in 1998 and has been unfolding ever since in France and elsewhere in the world. Like a roving ambassador for epicurean living, he prepares sumptuous gala dinners, like recitals, all over the world and is celebrated like an icon of sweet gourmet pleasures. His legendary recipes appear in many books used as "bibles" by connoisseurs and professionals all over the world.
With his original approach to the profession of pastry chef, he revolutionizes even the most firmly entrenched traditions. For example, he prefers discreet pastry decors and "uses sugar like salt, in other words, as a seasoning to heighten other shades of flavor." Refusing to sit on his laurels, he is always revising his own work, exploring new taste territories and revisiting his own recipes. As a result, praise has often been lavished on Pierre Hermé, who has been called "the Picasso of pastry " (Vogue magazine), "pastry provocateur" (Food & Wine), "an avant-garde pastry chef and a magician with tastes" (Paris-Match), "kitchen emperor" (New York Times), “The King of modern pâtisserie” (The Guardian), along with honors and decorations, as well as – most importantly – the admiring gratitude of connoisseurs of gourmet sweets.



> Chocolate according to Pierre Hermé > Like a magic potion, chocolate is a source of intense, unique pleasures. In order to fully savor the desirable characteristics of a good chocolate, it should be consumed in a quiet environment at a moment when hunger has sharpened one's senses. Chocolate unfolds all of its aromas and its ideal texture at a temperature of about 21°C. Brilliance, roundness, intense flavors, the crunch of the brittle coating that gives way as you bite into it… these are the first forms of expression challenging the senses. When it melts in your mouth, the chocolate enchants the palate with its tender, melting texture and triggers a series of aromas that eventually invade the entire body. The palate proceeds to memorize the sensations procured by a good chocolate, whose lingering aftertaste is a sign of character: it prolongs the pleasure and encourages one to repeat the experience.