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10 minutes with: Jean-Michel Raynaud from Baroque

Jean Michel is no ordinary chef. He was the head pastry chef at a 3-Michelin starred French restaurant at the age of 20. Jean Michel was also a champion kick boxer and holds an MBA degree Now at Baroque, he has created sweet treats for the likes of Nicole Kidman and made the wedding cake for Bec & Lleyton Hewitt. Jean-Michel is constantly doing innovative and interesting things at Baroque. He was even able to recreate the Royal Wedding Cake in just 48 hours!

We spoke to Jean-Michel during Bastille Week and found out the he cooks up the best French treats in town.

What’s your favourite pastry to make and why?
I love the ‘Pompadour’ - Raspberry and passion fruit mousse, pine nut nougatine, almond sponge. It is a modern cake, neat but very traditional French flavours
Which 5 guests would you most like to have at a dinner party?
Pierre Herme ( French Pastry Chef), Jiddu Krishnamurti (Indian Philosopher), Sugar Ray Robinson (Boxer), Fiona Apple (singer, Poet) and Sigmund Freud! That would make one interesting dinner party…!

What influences you when you cook?
Working with bistro chefs at Baroque is greatly inspiring. Peter Robertson (Baroque Bistro chef de Cuisine) and I get to play with large of a variety of skills - sharing ideas and techniques between the two areas really helps to inspire. We play with more textures such as jellies and dried ice - the way we approached dessert today is very different to how we did back then.

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You went from being a champion kick boxer to a pastry chef. What was the transition like?
I was already a Pastry Chef by the time I went into Kick Boxing. I do believe the attributes I acquired from the sport helped me to become a better chef in some ways. Kick-boxing teaches you discipline, humility, and educates you how to overcome drawbacks, and how to listen – these are all crucial for chefs! And most importantly of all, the sport teaches you patience.

What would be your ultimate pastry?
My ultimate pastry depends on the situation…it could be a light yet satisfying dessert at the end of a meal that complements the flavour and feel of a main course, completing a dining experience on a high note. It could be a fresh croissant enjoyed on a cold morning winter with a strong coffee. Or it could be a simple colourful fruit tart, eaten whilst lying next to a swimming pool while drinking a pina colada. What makes a perfect dish or pastry is how it complements the setting it is served within.

What are your 5 most used ingredients in the kitchen?
At Baroque, because Macarons are a large part of our production, we use large quantities of Almonds, Sugar, Flour, Eggs and of course....butter.

Cook a batch of Jean-Michels salted caramel macarons at home.

What’s the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
I went several times to Africa, the weirdest thing was probably Porcupine, stewed with Ndole, a bitter leaf that originated from Cameroun. I also ate snake, but that just tasted like chicken.

What is your perfect food and music match?
I guess a perfect dish has to fit nicely within its environment, seasons, decor and of course music. I would go for a frangipane tart with Lemon and Basil curd, served with an espresso, in summer, listening to Carlos Jobim’s Girl from Ipanema.

You have 10 minutes to make a sweet treat, what would you make?
It might sound odd, but I would do a pound cake, equal amount of butter, sugar, flavour and eggs, a bit of vanilla, rum. It is the cake that got me into pastry when I was a small kid, I loved it then, and I still love it 35 years later! Simple and delicious.

What do you love most about macarons?
I love how we are able to experiment with so many different flavours, colours and ranges of macarons – the possibilities are endless. We have just created a French alcohol inspired range for Bastille Day, and we are always throwing around other weird and wonderful macaron ideas – such as spray painting them with images! While many of these have not yet come to fruition, but watch this space…

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