Tête-à-tête with Chef Nicolas Lambert
Currently Senior Executive Pastry Chef of both Four Seasons Hotels in Dubai, Jumeirah beach and DIFC, Nicolas Lambert has an interesting career path.
Coming from a family of bakers and pastry chefs, it was perhaps inevitable that his twin brother and himself follow in the same footsteps. The seeds of pastry making were planted in him since the age of two. He learned the craft and rigor of baking at the feet of his parents in their quaint bakery in Epinal (France).
He started his apprenticeship at the age of 15 while shadowing Philippe Torti at Pâtisserie du Musée in his town.
After five years and three diplomas, it was time for him to leave the nest. He started his career at Patisserie Yves Musquar in Nancy (France) and then joined the Patisserie Sebastien Bouillet as a commis in Lyon. He there won his first pastry competition and became the youngest winner of the Festival National of Crequembouches. He then moved to Paris to as a Chef de Partie at the Plaza Athene under one of the greats, Christophe Michalak. After that, he moved to Cannes in the south of France to work as a Sous-Chef for Jerome de Oliveira. He was lucky to experience a young company in the middle of its blooming with a big production kitchen, a great team with many international interns and the opening of new boutiques.
A few years later, he felt that it was time to experience the international world and thus went to Honk Kong for a first position of Pastry Chef at a two Michelin-starred restaurant: Caprice. It was an all-around growth and crazy experience as he had to learn the ropes of a Michelin starred restaurant, adapt to life in a foreign country and even learn a new language as he did not know a word of English before coming there. His dedication was quickly rewarded when he was elected Best Pastry Chef for Honk Kong and Macau by Tatler Magazine in 2016 and 2018. He has also been chosen as the youngest ever World 50 Best Asia’s Pastry Chef 2018 according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
In need of a new challenge, he then moved to Russia for three years as Executive Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace in Saint Petersburg: this experience has exceeded all of his expectations.
He arrived in Dubai in 2021 and said,
“so now Dubai, the best is yet to come”
He has been honoured Best Pastry Chef 2021 by Relais Desserts International and Pastry Chef of the year 2022 by Gault & Millau.
