Pierre Hermé boutique, the world of macaroons and high-end pastries

Pierre Hermé boutique in Le Marais in Paris. Pierre Hermé, the man who made the macaroon famous worldwide, also has a store 18 Rue Sainte-Croix De La Bretonnerie - and a few more in Paris and elswhere in the World.

Pierre Hermé's specialty

Pierre Hermé is the art of the macaroon. One in particular: the Ispahan, a unique combination of raspberry, lychee and rose. A sweet specialty that can be eaten from Paris to Tokyo via Dubai and has already earned this descendant of Alsatian bakers the title of "Dior of desserts".

The pleasure of the macaroon

Indulge yourself and others: dive into the heart of Pierre Hermé's world of tastes and sensations through a gourmet journey where macaroon boxes, cakes, ice creams and chocolate candy assortments are at the heart of your desires. Just enter in Pierre Hermé boutique at 18 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie

The history of Pierre Hermé

The artisan student of Lenôtre and then Fauchon, already crowned with the entry of his statue in the Grévin Museum in Paris in October 2015 and his name in the Larousse dictionary, built his empire on a small cake formed by two cookie rounds filled with flavored cream.

A sweetness he didn't like at first. "I thought it was too sweet," he says. "What made me want to work on the macaroon was that there wasn't much then, just coffee, chocolate, vanilla. I told myself that there was really a field of creativity to explore," he tells AFP, in his bright office near the Parc Monceau.

In the 1980s, he started to create new mixtures, "to make the taste of the macaroon more playful". Their taste is all the more intense as the filling is generous, explains the pastry chef who also worked at Ladurée, a house also famous for this small cake.

In 2016, Pierre Hermé was also named "best pastry chef in the world".

Inspiration and Pierre Hermé

His sources of inspiration? "It can be a product I've tasted, a reading, an image," says Pierre Hermé, who always starts by drawing and writing the recipe, before submitting it to a team of pastry chefs in charge of testing.

Among his successful associations of flavors, the olive oil and vanilla macaroon, the Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit), the foie gras chocolate more or less intense.

This wine lover is also used to collaborating with other creators, whether it is the perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez, former "nose" of Rochas, or artists such as the Italian Giuseppe Penone whose work inspired him to create a Christmas log. Also, the French artist Nicolas Buffe who illustrated the boxes of his chocolates with his fairy universe, half manga, half baroque.

High-end pastry at Pierre Hermé boutique

Pierre Hermé is pleased to see the current craze for high-end pastry, to which he "doesn't think he's a complete stranger".

"There are more and more talented pastry chefs who are making a name for themselves, opening boutiques, doing exceptional things in hotels and restaurants. The profession is very much alive, lots of young people want to learn this trade, I think that's great."

"Twenty years ago, when you wanted to be a pastry chef, people would say, 'Oh, really?'" says the 50-year-old with the round figure. "Me, from the age of 9 I wanted to be a pastry chef. My mother tried to talk me out of it, but it didn't work!"

Pierre Hermé boutiques in Paris

Pierre Hermé boutiques are defined as

• The Pierre Hermé Café
• The Pierre Hermé Café-Restaurant
• The boutiques : Macaroons & Chocolates
• The boutiques : Pastries

You can find Pierre Hermé boutiques at the following addresses (Tel: 01 43 54 47 77)

PARIS 6E - Café Pierre Hermé Saint-placide - 43 rue Saint-Placide - 75006 Paris
PARIS 1ER - The stores : Macarons et Chocolats - 4 Rue Cambon - 75001 Paris
PARIS 2E - OPERA - Les boutiques : Pâtisseries - 39 avenue de l'Opéra - 75002
PARIS 3E - BRETAGNE - Shops : Pastries - 4 rue de Bretagne - 75003
PARIS 4E - MARAIS - Shops : Macarons & Chocolats - 18 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie - 75004
PARIS 6E - BONAPARTE - Les boutiques : Pastries - 72 rue Bonaparte - 75006
PARIS 6E - CAFÉ PIERRE HERMÉ ODÉON - Le Café Pierre Hermé - 126 boulevard Saint-Germain - 75006

PARIS 7E - BEAUPASSAGE - The Pierre Hermé Café-Restaurant - 53-57 rue de Grenelle - 75007
PARIS 8E - MALESHERBES - The stores : Pastries - 89 Boulevard Malesherbes - 75008
PARIS 8E - 133 AV. DES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES - Les boutiques : Macarons & Chocolats - 133 avenue des Champs Elysées - 75008

PARIS 8E – 86 CHAMPS BOUTIQUE - Les boutiques : Pâtisseries - 86 avenue des Champs-Elysées - 75008
PARIS 8E - GARE SAINT LAZARE - The stores : Macarons & Chocolats - 1 cour de Rome - 75008
PARIS 8E - 86 CHAMPS SALON DE THÉ - Le Café Pierre Hermé - 86 avenue des Champs-Elysées - 75008
PARIS 9E - GALERIES LAFAYETTE COUPOLE LUXE 1ER ET 4E ÉTAGE - Les boutiques : Macarons & Chocolats - 40 boulevard Haussmann - 75009
PARIS 9E - GALERIES LAFAYETTE GOURMET - Les boutiques : Pastries - 35 boulevard Haussmann - 75009
PARIS 15E - VAUGIRARD - Les boutiques : Pastries - 185 rue de Vaugirard - 75015
PARIS 16E - PAUL DOUMER - Les boutiques : Pastry shops - 58 avenue Paul Doumer - 75016