Pierre Hermé: “Vegan pastries are a fantastic opportunity for innovation”

Pierre Hermé, the great French pastry chef, has just presented the monograph Pâtisserie Végétale (already available in English), one of the major new releases on our online platform Books for Chefs. At 63, the chef has decided to step out of his comfort zone to discover a palette of new flavors and experiences with Linda Vondgara, without sacrificing taste and pleasure. What is his view on plant-based pastries?

 Is there room for (good) pastries without cream, butter, or eggs?

For a classically trained pastry chef, the idea of ​​making cakes without any animal products is a complete and utter challenge.

I learned to make cakes with eggs, milk, butter, and cream, which are the foundation of pastry. Replacing them is a challenge both in terms of flavor and technique. But it’s a fantastic opportunity to innovate. That’s why I’m passionate about it. When it comes to creation, you shouldn’t be afraid to face the unknown, you have to take risks.

Writing a book about this different approach is part of that quest, like a challenge to be taken up, an obligation to free myself from traditional codes, to expand my knowledge, to step out of my comfort zone. This allows us to go as far as possible in our search for what’s good, to offer a new story of delicacies and emotions, and to give vegan pastry the place it deserves.

“For a classically trained pastry chef, the idea of ​​making cakes without any animal products is a complete and utter challenge.”

Why a book on plant-based pastry, and why now?

I became interested in plant-based pastry quite late because ingredients of non-animal origin aren’t part of my daily routine.

My interest arose when I discovered Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s cuisine in New York, at his restaurant ABCV, in 2018, and then after tasting the vegan creations of Andréa Rocagel, a young pastry chef from Hong Kong, and Rodolphe Landemaine’s cakes when he opened his Land&Monkeys shop in Paris. Far from what I had imagined, these desserts, as delicate as they were tasty, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. So I had to approach the topic of plant-based desserts with the same rigor and professionalism as classic pastries. I had the opportunity to do so during my collaboration with La Maison du Chocolat in 2020.

I had to create two original chocolate cakes and consider what I could contribute to the excellence of La Maison du Chocolat. Plant-based cakes seemed the most obvious choice. They allowed me to offer a different type of pastry while also continuing the Bien-être (Well-being) chocolate boxes introduced some time ago by Nicolas Cloiseau. The idea and the desire were there; I just had to put them into practice by imagining a new culinary language. I developed the Rose des Sables (Desert Rose) and Fleur de Cassis (Blackcurrant Blossom) cakes, in a way, as a way to gain momentum, imagine the future, and perhaps alter destiny. But making two plant-based cakes isn’t enough to capture the richness of this new world. You have to thoroughly understand the ingredients, understand how to use them, and develop a new way of thinking to create tasty recipes. In short, you have to unlearn the basics and open yourself to the new. My encounter with Linda Vongdara and the work of my creative tatelier team have allowed me to assimilate this new knowledge. 

Do you think interest in pastries and plant-based foods will grow in the future?

A maison like ours can’t ignore the growing vegan trend. For many and varied reasons, more and more customers are opting for a diet free of animal protein. Some out of ecological and ethical convictions, others for cultural, health, or religious reasons, and still others for all of these reasons at once. For me, it was essential to offer good cakes to these new gourmets.

Doesn’t a sablée pastry have to taste like butter?

This book is based on my philosophy, with pleasure as its sole guide. I’m not trying to recapture the taste of butter, eggs, or cream; I simply want to offer a new creative opportunity, a new way of tasting. It’s not about reproducing the texture of a traditional cake or pastry, but rather opening up to another point of view, other flavors, other sensations, and other ways of making things.

“I’m not trying to recapture the taste of butter, eggs, or cream; I simply want to offer a new creative opportunity, a new way of tasting.”

For a good macaron, what do you prefer: egg white or potato protein?

Everything is different. You have to avoid comparisons and approach it as a new territory of exploration, a new universe of flavors. Both ingredients make good macarons.

Should we forget the usual references (sablée, croissant, macaron, chantilly, among others) before becoming interested in vegan pastries?

I’ll say it again: you have to be open to new things and avoid comparisons. What interests me is flavor and goodness.

In your opinion, how many of the recipes in this book are comparable to their classic pastry counterparts?

All of them!

What other books and collaborations do you have planned?

My next book will be Dictionnaire amoureux de la pâtisserie, published by Plon.