Passion Dessert: Meet 2023’s Best Pastry Chefs

Eight exceptional pastry chefs were honored with the Prix Passion Dessert on Monday March 6, 2023, at the annual Michelin Guide ceremony at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg.

1,500 guests, including nearly 600 Michelin-starred chefs, came together for this major gastronomy event, during which Michelin unveiled the 2023 list of Michelin-starred restaurants and the latest Passion Dessert winners.

Passion Dessert has recognized the most talented and ethically conscious pastry chefs since 2019.

Valrhona and the prestigious Michelin Guide shine a spotlight on the pastry-making profession with Passion Dessert, a competition which rewards all generations of pastry-makers.

Valrhona has been a partner to flavor-makers since 1922 and has always worked with gastronomy professionals (including bakers, pastry chefs, chocolatiers and ice cream makers) to support them as they develop their own unique identity and inspire them with ever-more creative, ethical gastronomy. Now more than ever, pastry chefs have a key role to play in terms of guiding the industry through new practices and techniques, selecting recipes’ ingredients, and understanding products’ nutritional qualities. Their number-one challenge? (Re)defining a kind of sweet cuisine that is as indulgent as ever, yet healthier for people and the planet. With the unique experiences they bring to their customers, these chefs are now leading the way for creative and ethical dessert gastronomy.

When it created Passion Dessert with the Michelin Guide in 2019, Valrhona wanted to reaffirm its support for and reward these chefs - now recognized as the most talented of their era - for their audacity and creativity, as well as their daily commitment to socially and environmentally ethical cuisine.
 

The 2023 Passion Dessert winners

For the fifth year in a row, the Michelin Guide’s inspectors have scoured France in search of new dessert-making talents. Their leading selection criteria were flavor, audacity, creativity, suppliers’ production conditions, impact on consumer health, and respect for seasons and the environment.

Eight talented pastry chefs are joining Passion Dessert’s ranks in 2023:

Pierre-Jean Quinonero, Le Baudelaire (Paris, 1st arrondissement) - Fresh raspberry, jasmine and goat’s faiselle fromage frais

© Le Baudelaire / Julie Limont

Germain Decreton, Le Jules Verne (Paris, 7th arrondissement) - Vanilla, ice cream, and croissant and pain perdu-style brioche wafer

© Jules Verne / Germain Decreton

François Josse, Rouge (Nîmes) - Crispy meringue, citrus and fresh herbs

© Guide MICHELIN

Sébastien Deléglise, Les Explorateurs - Hôtel Pashmina (Val-Thorens) - Savoie wheat with vanilla-flavored milk, tatin-style sorbet and bitter almond mousse

© Sébastien Deléglise

Aurélie Collomb-Clerc, Flocons de Sel (Megève) - Hot soufflé flavored with gentian root, lime zest and gentian crème anglaise

César Troisgros & Romain Puybareau, Troisgros - Le Bois sans Feuilles (Ouches) - Chocolate narcissus tart with caper ice cream

© Félix Ledru /Troisgros

Marius Dufay, Mirazur (Menton) - Bell peppers and almonds

Huge congratulations to the new cohort of pastry chefs! This talented bunch is helping to promote sweet cuisine around the world.