French pastry chef Christelle Brua reigns supreme

French pastry chef Christelle Brua reigns supreme

Christelle Brua

Christelle Brua

Christelle Brua, French pastry chef at the three Michelin star Pré Catelan restaurant in Paris, becomes the guide’s first woman to win the Valrhona Best Pastry Chef in the World award hosted by the prestigious restaurant association Les Grandes Tables du Monde, at their 64th conference in Marrakech, Morocco. HN talked with her to find out more.

How do you feel about being the first woman to receive this award and how will that affect your career?

This award is a great joy and pride, which I would like to share with Chef Frédéric Anton and the Pré Catelan team. I am very pleased to have received this distinction, irrespective of my gender, which I never really gave much notice or attention to. If however more visibility and confidence is extended to other female chefs the world over, then I take it to be very positive!

What are some of the elements that helped you in emerging as the top contender?

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It’s complicated for me to answer that question. I cannot speak for those who voted for me. But I think it is above all a journey that would not have been possible were it not for the work of the team at the restaurant Le Pré Catelan. Another decisive factor is what has become the restaurant’s signature dessert dish called La Pomme, which may have had a great impact on the competition’s jury members.

What are some of your future plans?

I work continuously to create new desserts for Le Pré Catelan with Chef Frédéric Anton. We are always looking for new emotions to reveal to our customers. In the longer term, I see myself working on more personal projects.

leprecatelan.com

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About author

Rita Ghantous

Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector. Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC). She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book. She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter. Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler. It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.

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