It is not the first time that La Maison du Chocolat invites a great pastry chef as chef in residence to create a dessert. In February 2020 Nicolas Cloiseau, chef at La Maison, proposed it to Pierre Hermé and in 2021 the chosen chef is Christophe Michalak, who says “I know all the codes of this house, all of the recipes. It’s like an old friend, I love its institutional side. What I love is that it makes cakes that we no longer know how to make. Today’s pastry is very structured, very elegant, and looks to aesthetics too much”.

Together with Cloiseau, Michalak is carried away by one of his childhood memories: the Sachertorte from the Sacher Hotel in Vienna, an iconic travel cake that is shipped around the world. And from there he creates UNIK, a nomadic, gourmet and generous snack cake, designed to be shared, which can be stored for three weeks, and will be available in boutiques starting in April.

This creation combines various sensations and textures. Soft and heavily caramelised praline in homage to the Maison’s “Figaro”, roasted Piedmont hazelnuts, particularly a round, chocolatey dark ganache in a nod to “Quito”, a thick and dense cookie with melted chocolate, all covered in a sprinkled chocolate glaze with cocoa beans.