The Parisian Pastry Chef Behind the Ultimate Valentine’s Dessert

The pastry world would be nowhere near as rich (pun intended) without Jeffrey Cagnes. An artist wielding flour, butter, sugar and chocolate as his tools, Cagnes is known for his innovative takes on sweet tooth classics and is widely considered one of Paris’ most esteemed pastry chefs—no short order in a city teeming with competition. With experience as a pastry chef at Stohrer, the oldest pastry store in Paris, and as the mastermind behind Le livre de pâtisserie Stohrer, here, we speak to one of the dessert world’s most inventive minds about his earliest food memories, his favorite ingredients and what, exactly, it takes to make a 13-foot high chocolate religieuse. 

Image: @martinbrunophoto

Maison Benjamin: What is your earliest memory of food? 

Jeffrey Cagnes: My parents were in the retail business, so nothing to do with pastry…and I wasn’t interested in going to college so I started an internship right after high school. I did my internship with the 1996 Pastry World Champion Pascal Caffet just to figure out if pastry was really my thing before starting a career out of it. Eventually the chef there made me aware that I wasn’t quite good at it and that I should seek another path…

MB: What’s the most important lesson you learned as a trainee?

JC: The best lesson I learned was that it’s about passion, and transmitting the knowledge and techniques, but most importantly it’s about human interaction. Today this is still my most important message! To me, it is very important to share knowledge and experience, although the learning curve in this industry is neverending, and it’s a constant daily reassessment. My motto is, never give up and look forward.

MB: You’ve had an illustrious career, winning various awards. What is the secret to your success? 

JC: Haha, thank you! I always took my recognition with a sense of humility because it’s only a bonus. I never thought I would have achieved this much when I first started. I wasn’t as motivated as I am today, but my tenacity at work is now paying off. There is no secret, it’s just work with a capital ‘W’.

Saint Honoré. Image: @geraldinemartens

MB: What makes French pâtisserie so special?

JC: Today I think the success of the French pastry is linked to its history. A lot of classic desserts such as the Paris-Brest, Tarte Tatin, Saint-Honorè etc…are staples for us French pastry chefs, and today we continue to honor these classics but with a new twist, or revisited….

MB: What are your favourite ingredients to work with?

JC: Without hesitation, vanilla bean.

MB: Which is your most popular creation?

JC: There isn’t such a popular creation, I appropriate classic desserts that I then adapt to my vision and taste and, most importantly, to my customers…but if I have to pick one it would be the Baba au Rhum from Maison Stohrer.

Jeffrey’s unique invention, the babkeour, filled with almond curd and rosewater, pralines and crispy rose petals. Image: @geraldinemartens

MB: You recently travelled to Israel, where you have discovered the babka. Upon your return to France, you made your own chocolate and hazelnut version of it… What was your intention behind this idea ?

JC: I just fell in love with this dessert, it was so gourmet yet simple to make. With the help of an Israeli trainee, I decided to make my own version and try to sell it—and it was a success from day one. 

MB: Your talent and popularity led to the opportunity to create a dress made of chocolate for Paris Fashion Week. Can you tell us more?

JC: It’s a simple goal, but quite the achievement every year to celebrate the Paris Fashion Week. Each selected pastry chef teams up with a stylist and creates their own dress made of chocolate …I did it for four consecutive years and I'm proud of the results.

Jeffrey Cagnes’ chocolate dress at Paris Fashion Week, image: @salonduchocolat

MB: Another exceptional creation from you is the chocolate religieuse that’s more than 13-feet high! What is the quantity of ingredients you need, and how long does it take to complete that sort of project? 

JC: We’re talking days, not hours! It takes about five days of preparation and one night to assemble 4500 eclairs, 770 pounds of pastry cream and 330 pounds of chocolate all together.

MB: You worked at Maison Stohrer for many years. What does it represent for you?

JC: This pastry shop is the oldest patisserie of Paris, and this is where I learnt everything upon my return in Paris. This place gave me the opportunity to grow, and showcase my work. I owe a lot to Mr Nicolas Stoher for his history, and Francois Duthu for always believing in me 

MB: In collaboration with Maison Stohrer, you wrote the book Le livre de pâtisserie Stohrer. Can you tell us more about it ? 

JC: This book is an achievement and a consecration for me, and I had to write with Stohrer as that place means a lot to me. In this book I share the old classics from this family as well as my own creations, and of course I also teach readers my techniques and knowledge.

MB: What is your favorite dessert or sweet for Valentine's Day? 

JC: My “babkoeur” (babka in the shape of a heart), filled with almond curd and rosewater, pralines and crispy rose petals.

MB: What do you have coming up next?

JC: I'm working on a new project that I will be able to share soon. All I can tell you that it’s going to be amazing. But in the meantime, my wife is expecting twin girls and that’s also very exciting.

MB: Lastly, do you have any plans to open a Jeffrey Cagnes pastry shop in New York City?

JC: That would be my childhood dream!