Simple Sweets, Simple Dreams – Chef Fumiaki Kobayashi of Atelier Orangé
by Qian Leung
@ 19 Jan 2018
Chef Fumiaki Kobayashi’s interest in pastry was first piqued at age 12, when he laid eyes on the cool-looking pastry chef uniform. In his youth, when he had first arrived in France, he hadn’t really appreciated the local pastry. “I didn’t realise then how good the simple, local sweets were,” says the 42-year-old pastry chef, originally from Nagoya. “At that time, I didn’t have much knowledge of authentic French pastries.” It was tough adjusting to life in Alsace, where he was for four months, and later, Paris, where he spent one and a half years. “Because by that time I had graduated from culinary school in Japan, and had worked for certain restaurants, building up my career.” To find himself suddenly back in a junior position, with a low salary and doing basic chores like cleaning the floor, was not easy. Since French pastry chefs expected so much from themselves, they sometimes gave outsiders an impression of being snobbish. “Because French pastry is really the culture from France, they have very high prestige.” As time went by, he realised how different authentic French pastries were from what he had in Japan. It takes time for pastry chefs who grew up in a different culture to arrive at the high standards of authentic French pastry, but nowadays, their hard work and skill are changing the opinions of exacting French pastry chefs.
“The secret is the heart,” agrees Chef Kobayashi when asked about the secret to the lightness of the sponge and the airiness of the cream. “Actually, this is a very casual dessert, if you practise a lot and never up, you’ll be able to make it too.” As someone who has worked both in a michelin-starred French-Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, as well as opened up his own
patisserie in Mie prefecture where he grew up, his advice to younger chefs is accumulate their own experiences. “Rediscover ingredients from your own culture, say, togarashi (Japanese chilli pepper) or yuzu (Japanese citron).” While his interest today is in exploring local ingredients, his desire had always been to express the spirit of authentic French pastry. “Study more about pastry in Europe, such as Italy, Portugal, and Spain,” says the pixyish chef. “Since you’re young, why not compete in pastry competitions? Visit other countries, and open up your horizons!” QL
Adapted from the Jan Feb 18 issue of Cuisine & Wine Asia.
