Not only has Michel Willaume mastered every speciality in pastry making from chocolate to the most modern shapes of pastry, but he is also one of the most travelled French pastry chefs.
Crowned World Champion in 2001 in Lyon, Michel's accolades extend beyond the competition arena. As a dedicated pastry educator and visionary, he imparts his knowledge to aspiring talents, shaping the future of the craft. Now, in a new chapter of his career, he has become IRCA Group Brand Ambassador, representing excellence and innovation in the field.
Embark on the story of Michel Willaume, where passion, skill, and creativity converge to redefine the boundaries of pastry artistry.
When did your passion for pastry start?
"Since I was young, I've always had a sweet tooth. I grew up in a big household with four brothers and a mother who excelled in the kitchen, particularly with desserts.
Among her specialties, there was a very classic and delicious apple pie. My grandparents had apple orchards and during the winter when I went visiting them, I would always come back home with a lot of apples to make this pie - This was the first pastry recipe I decided to learn. I was just 9-10 years old. I think my spark for pastry started there.
Over time, I became the designated family chef. I then started studying pastry at 15. At the time my father showed me his support by buying me a book by a famous French pastry chef - Gaston Lenôtre. I was so happy I recreated all the recipes of the book at home. No wonder my mother was so furious about the mess - we had a really small kitchen, but it was a period I really enjoyed because I understood what I wanted to do.
I've been doing pastry since then and I'm still full of curiosity, energy and ideas. It's such a beautiful world."
What were some the biggest challenges you have faced in your career and how did you overcome them?
"One of the most significant challenges I encountered in my career was my first venture outside France, in Spain in 1992 when I was 26 years old.
There I assumed the role of executive pastry chef at a prestigious 5-star hotel, the Ritz Carlton. It was a challenging and transformative experience that brought me to where I am today.
I had to learn how to deal with different situations. I had to be responsible for creating and making pastry, and I had to learn the mechanism to work in such environment, I remember I had no time off. There were 5 people in my team, and I had to train them since they were all very young, while understanding which was the correct way of being a leader.
But looking back, it was a pivotal moment that propelled me forward in my career journey and fostered my growth, while understanding the importance of imparting my expertise to future generations."
Can you define a specific moment in your pastry career?
"One of the greatest emotions I lived during my pastry career was when I won the World Pastry Cup in 2001 with Chef En-Ming Hsu & Chef Ewald Notter.
Every time I return to the SIRHA competition room, I can't help but feel a rush of excitement. I always feel shivers. During that memorable event, my team and I crafted three stunning showpieces: one in chocolate, one in sugar, and one in ice category."
When did you develop your philosophy of pastry?
"At the beginning of your pastry journey learning from others and drawing inspiration from fellow chefs is inevitable. You will experiment and try to recreate flavors and techniques you admire, but you never want to copy the same, you must put your own twist because real innovation comes from everybody's unique flair.
Then as you progress into the role of a chef, you're tasked with a multifaceted responsibility: creating, executing, training, and cultivating your own charisma and character, all at the same time.
For me the "Think Pastry" motto came after all this period of learning and working in different places that shaped who I am today. I developed my philosophy of pastry when I was more mature, it came from a reflection of what I was doing and what I was doing was pastry. This was where it came from.
2013 marked for me a turning point in my life, symbolizing a renaissance of sorts. It was during this transformative period that I reimagined my consulting project, M. Consulting, in "Think Pastry" because I was not just doing, but I was thinking pastry all the time. It was there that Think Pastry became more than just a business venture—it embodied my guiding principle, my ethos, and my approach to teaching the art of pastry."
What advice would you give to aspiring future pastry chefs?
My teaching philosophy centers around inspiration. I've been teaching for more than 15 years now, and I do it by inspiring people who want to do pastry.
What I will always suggest to young and aspiring pastry chefs is to have the right attitude, to be positive and to treat people with kindness, highlighting what is already good and showing what must be improved.
Know what you want and be brave in your path, showing your eager because it’s by doing all of that you will succeed.
Teaching has changed my life, it gave me the time to be creative and to focus even more on the rules and techniques of pastry, learning at the same time how to explain everything from the sponge to the glaze, focusing on the technology and science of pastry.
What type of emotions do you want to convey to people through your desserts?
"I travelled a lot in and to Europe, Asia, Australia, North & South America and North Pacific - almost everywhere, and this continued to build me not much in the production of pastry, but in the way I felt and understood people.
I loved to see I could touch the sensitivity of people from young to old, and this showed me I was doing the right thing.
Of course, I can't inspire everybody, but if I have just one person that I have really inspired deeply, then for me my job is done.
This happens a lot while I teach.
I remember this time when this young lady came up to me after a demo and told me she had a lot of bad experiences in pastry and she almost came to the decision to stop, but with my demo she understood that that's what she really wanted to do. For me these comments are worth more than pastry making. I try to transmit the best I can and all the knowledge I own. I feel like I’m doing something in this world."
How do you see the future of pastry?
"It will always be interesting to understand where we will go.
What I see is that we are coming back to the essentials, to the flavors and to the core knowledge of the ingredients, striking a balance and selecting the right products to embrace a healthier approach.
At the same time innovation is going very fast and it feels like we do not have time to absorb things and to enjoy something at its fullest.
We have always to keep in mind that the essence of pastry lies beyond mere appearances. While presentation is important, true beauty and complexity reside within the depth of flavors, textures, and our craftsmanship."
Tell us about your journey within IRCA Group
"I am now an IRCA Group ambassador, and I couldn't be happier to take on this challenge.
But my career within the Group started with Dobla a few years ago. I remember I was completely impressed by the Innovation Center during my first interview - it was so clean and so white. Now it's like a family for me, I have my friends and colleagues there.
I like the idea to create, I like the nice things, I like the art in general and being part of the innovation process is such a big perk for me. Here we are always on the verge of creating new things. It's an evolution all the time. We change, and it's right to change to become our best version."
