Ca
France

JULIEN ALVAREZ studied at different patisseries, first in Bergerac then in Barcelona with Carles Mampel. This sweet adventure led this young prodigy to perform brilliantly in competitions: the French World Pastry Championship team in 2006, 5th in the World Chocolate Masters in 2007, a gold medal with the Spanish team at the 2011 World Cup Pastry competition in Lyon. Julien Alvarez also worked with Philippe Conticini for the creation of the Pâtisserie des Rêves before joining le Peninsula restaurant in 2014 to manage a dozen people.

What role does cream play in your baking?
Julien Alvarez :

We are fortunate to have a unique country that offers excellent products. I assume that, in order to make good pastries, the selection of raw materials is paramount. Cream is one of the flagship products in our range of ingredients.

How do you manipulate cream in your baking?
Julien Alvarez :

Depending on the recipe, you can play with the specifics of the cream in terms of texture and taste. It is used for its acidity and its taste in contrast with the other ingredients. For banoffee pie, I choose two types of cream: the first is a small, unsweetened and unflavoured ball of cream inside the heart of the cake, and the second is whipped cream on top. When you reach the heart of the cake, your mouth experiences the lightness, acidity and creaminess all at once. The acidity counterbalances and rounds out the basis brownie with milk chocolatebanana/ creamy milk jam flavours. It’s very interesting! Many ingredients can be used to infuse flavour into cream: fig leaves, rosemary, verbena, tea, lemon thyme, rosemary, etc. We look for neutral-tasting cream simply because it is a medium that should not alter the infusion. We make them hot or cold
according to taste. For coffee creams, for example, we take split, roasted coffee beans and mix them into the cold cream and leave the mixture to infuse overnight, which results in a very white whipped cream with a very strong scent.

A good cream, I just can't live without it.
What are its uses?
Julien Alvarez :

Cream is used in numerous preparations. In some dishes, such as panna cotta, whipped cream and ice-cream, it is the main ingredient. We can appreciate all its qualities. In other recipes, the composition of cream makes it a flavourful fixative and lets you achieve a smooth, light texture.

What is the best dish you've ever created using cream?
Julien Alvarez :

Chou, hazelnut praline, whipped mascarpone vanilla and praline pecan lava cake, which has been served at the Lobby since the opening of the hotel. We also make a great baba. We have three or four recipes that rotate with the seasons: cherry-verbena, raspberry Grand Marnier, hazelnut and apricot-thyme-lemon. One of the essential components is infusion, of course, into the Chantilly whipped cream.

Cream: would you say that you like it alot, passionately, or are absolutely mad about it?
Julien Alvarez :

I would say passionate, bordering on mad! I just can’t live without it.

What is your favourite cream cake?
Julien Alvarez :

When I am in Japan, it is the shortcake. I discovered that this pastry is made to perfection over there. It is composed of a white sponge cake soaked in juice, yuzu for example, with a very slight brushing of vanilla cream, slightly sweetened, and fresh strawberries. It’s wonderful! Otherwise, there is always the classic Saint Honoré pastry, which is one of my guilty pleasures.

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LE PENINSULA
Paris 16e