Books For Chefs Catalogue Christophe Michalak
Christophe Michalak looks back at two decades of trade with a triple volume
“20 ans de pâtisserie” is the title with which Christophe Michalak presents his most recent book, a triple volume embedded in a methacrylate folder. It is composed of three great books whose purpose is to review his 20-year career in the trade, from his beginnings in the Plaza Athenée, at the same time that he won the World Pastry Cup with Philippe Rigollot and Angelo Musa, to the present. The book is published by Hachette and is available in French. These three books divide his wide repertoire of creations into three major stages. The first is focused on his long 15-year stage at the Plaza Athenée, a time in which he already stood out for tracing his own path of fresher and more intense pastry. Creations like the coconut babá and lemon verbena and Thai basil; the strawberry and pistachio cake or the brioche with a raspberry heart and red craquelin.
In the second part, he focuses on his solo career and on his work as a trainer and consultant with his own brand. At this time, his concern to develop modern concepts with a point of informality stands out, like mythical collections Les Kosmik, Fantastic, and the koonies.
And finally, the third book reviews the proposals made by the chef patissier since 2016. Here he proposes to deconsecrate the pastry classics and give them a new air that connects more with the public. For example, we come across the grand tarte praliné-pain d’épice, the sushis, the chocolate and vanilla chou, or the Paris-Brest millefeuille. A total of 150 creations that serve to understand the importance of this chef, one of the great modernizers of French Pâtisserie in the last 20 years and perhaps the most outstanding professional figure of his generation.
