After a general training in cooking, Claire Heitzler turned to pastry.
She became an apprentice with Thierry Mulhaupt, in Strasbourg, then a clerk with Troisgros, in Roanne. She then joined Georges Blanc in Vonnas, stayed at the Oranger restaurant in London, then became pastry chef at Alain Ducasse’s Beige restaurant in Tokyo, the Park Hyatt in Dubai and, in 2009, joined the Ritz Paris.
In 2010, she was appointed pastry chef at the Lasserre restaurant, where she offered, a few years later, a menu called “sweet sequence”, based around the flavor… of sweet. Elected Pastry Chef of the Year 2013 by Gault-Millau, rewarded with the Prize of Excellence for Best Pastry Chef awarded by Relais Desserts in 2014, in 2015 she became Head of Pastry Creation at Ladurée.
I’m a citrus lover
The entire fruit can be used in the kitchen, from the flesh to the bark. The latter is not always used and that’s a shame because it concentrates the flavors of the citrus fruit.
My favorite ? Dekopon, a Japanese citrus fruit that can be placed between orange and clementine, with soft and supple flesh. Otherwise, I love clementines.
For example in a cake, with zest in the dough and pieces of supreme on top, to bring flavor and a little moisture to the cake.
Pistachio-raspberry, one of my favorite alliances
For a long time I did not eat pistachio, I did not like it. I understood why when I started this job: in pastry, it is often cut with bitter almond and added coloring. The real pistachio is on the contrary sweet and delicate, and as it is also rich and generous, the raspberry, tangy and lively, brings it a perfect balance. A tart made with a sweet pastry and a pistachio cream garnished with pieces of raspberries, it’s so good!
Vanilla, my cute sin
I love vanilla, especially in ice cream, I can eat liters of it. Above all, don’t leave me a teaspoon next to a pot! I also really like the vanilla éclairs. In Paris, there are few, but in Alsace, where I come from, it is common. When I was little, I bought some on the sly…
My menu, when I receive friends
I cheat a little, because I’m lucky to have a cook husband! In general, I let him prepare the starter and the main course. For my part, in savory, I prefer to work cold: the aperitif, salads… On the other hand, I take care of the dessert, often a tart.
I love fruit, everyone loves pies, and it’s also the easiest thing to make at home. It’s complicated to compete with domestic devices when you have professional equipment available the rest of the time! My last pie? A Bourdaloue, with a crispy sweet pastry.
At Easter, I like dark chocolate
And particularly the notes of a relatively acid cocoa. Otherwise, in times of stress or pure indulgence, I fall for milk chocolate and caramel, or white chocolate. For Easter, I declined the traditional frying in the form of small Ladurée pastries, and imagined a series of small bunnies of all colors.
My Closet Basics
At home, I always have lemons, avocados, frozen edamame, and quinoa. A quick dinner? I’m making a salad with quinoa, avocado and snap peas.
I love candy…
Good junk food that goes well, Dragibus or Smurfs. I know very well that it is not good for health, I do not understand this need to eat chemical things. But that’s how it is, I can’t resist.
I worked 3 years in Japan
And I love Japanese culture and food. When I go there, I enjoy sobas (buckwheat noodles) and shabu-shabu, a fondue where the food is cooked in a broth, incredibly delicate. In baking, I love their little buns filled with red bean paste. On the other hand, I have never been tempted to introduce Japanese ingredients into my pastries. In France, we use yuzu or matcha in all sauces, but when we tasted them in Japan, the quality of those found here does not compare.
Putting matcha in a pastry to put it on is not interesting, just like cooking with frozen yuzu paste. I respect this culture and this cuisine too much!
Gomasio, my favorite condiment
It is in Asian grocery stores that I buy this mixture of sesame powder and salt. I put it in all my salads, or whenever I prepare fish or shrimp.
To read :
30 exceptional recipes explained step by step, with notes from the chef.
High level, for seasoned pastry cooks.
“Claire Heitzler, pastry chef”, Editions du Chêne.
