TCB: Who inspires you to have interest in confectionery in early teenage?
Chef: Pierre Herme and Oriol Balaguer
TCB: Did you found any difficulty in your patisserie career at so young age?
Chef: A few. It was very hard to understand which path to follow in a country like Brazil. There is not a congruent pastry identity, so it took me sometime to find my passion. It turned out that I love French and European techniquies but I applied to Brazilian ingredients. So I started developing a very singular work uniting both. Nowadays I use chocolate techniquies I learn around the globe to apply to the Brazilian chocolate of origin in order to make better products and show the world the Brazilian fine cocoa and it’s strong flavor profiles and personality.
I tried Biryani and Keema. Both were succulent and loaded with spices
TCB: Apart from Brazilian cuisines and culture. Have you ever tried any Pakistani cuisine? What’s your opinion about the Pakistani food and culture?
Chef: I tried once in a trip to France. I found it very peculiar and with a strong identity. I tried Biryani and Keema. Both were succulent and loaded with spices, but all was very well balanced and it really made me curious to know more about it. I realized through the flavors that there must be a strong cultural connection between the spices and local products, which probably make easy to reproduce the flavors, but the complexity on how to use spices amazed me for the high quality of its proportions to balance so many flavors. I am actually eager to try and taste more of it.
TCB: Tell something about your first making. How was it?
Chef: It was very funny actually. My first contact with a kitchen was making cookies for Christmas. I made the dough, my mother baked it and as I frosted them I ate more than I finished then. A few years later I started doing honey cakes – pão de mel -to sell in my school. Since than i never left the kitchen.
TCB: It is difficult to maintain sweetness in patisserie items. How do you manage to maintain that?
Chef: Sweetness is easy to maintain. For me the most difficult part is not let sweetness overpower delicates flavors and bring each ingredient to it s best moment. I think when you balance that you create an enjoyable experience for your costumer.
TCB: Who is your inspiration in the field of patisserie or chocolatier?
Chef: Nowadays I look up to Melissa Coppel, Ramon Morato and bean to bar chocolate producers around the globe.
I want to be able to show the world how Brazilian cocoa is growing
TCB: Tell us something about your classes and holding events you invest in and also what are your future plans?
Chef: I want to be able to show the world how Brazilian cocoa is growing in quality and be able to pass this passion so people can try new flavor profiles. I think the chocolate community has to share its passion and don’t forget that form must never surpass the essence -in this case, flavor.
TCB: ‘Taste is in the hand of someone who cooks or in the recipe?’ what do you think?
Chef: Taste us a combination of both. A good chef will develop the best recipes in order to get the best results of each ingredient.
Rapidfire:
- Pastry or Sorbet? (Pastry)
- Frozen yogurt or Ice cream? (Ice cream)
- Chocolate Brownie or Cheese Cake? (Cheese Cake)
- Waffle or Pie? (Pie)
- Flan or Pudding? (Pudding)
- Marco Pierre White or Jamie Oliver? (Marco Pierre White)