She had worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants, including Ledoyen and Le Meurice in Paris, before heading to Gordon Ramsay at the Conrad Tokyo and then to Petrus in Hong Kong.
Born in France—her parents are French and Japanese—Guérin has a strong technical background that can be detected in classic Boulud warm madeleines or the “chocolat coolant,” a warm chocolate cake with a perfectly liquid centre made of salted caramel, and topped with caramelized milk ice cream.
Alongside the Boulud mainstays, her own creations shine just as brightly. She has a delicate sensibility for wisely modern flavour combinations in dishes like pears with maple syrup, in which the fruit is poached and infused with ginger before meeting gianduja chocolate and maple cream, with a finishing touch of Poire William sorbet. With such creations she can’t seem to put a foot—or a spatula—wrong, and this makes her our choice for Best Pastry Chef 2017. — M-C.L.
CLAUDE GUÉRINCLAUDE GUÉRIN COURTESY OF THE RITz-CARLTON, FOOD PHOTO BY ALLEN MCEACHERN
