Celebrity pastry chef Cédric Grolet really likes you tiao and kopi. 8days.sg recently scored an exclusive interview with the affable 38-year-old at Como Orchard – a luxe new hotel and retail complex that will house Cédric’s first-ever outlet in Asia, slated to open early September. He was in Singapore for pre-publicity duties ahead of his shop’s opening. Surprisingly, the World’s Best Pastry Chef (as crowned by World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards in 2018) was genuinely charmed by our humble breakfast takeaway. 

Photo: Aik Chen/8 Days
 

As we present the dough fritters and kopi, which cost less than $5, to the brilliant mind behind the world-famous mini cakes resembling real fruits costing 18 euros (around S$26) a pop at his eponymous boutiques in Paris, his face lights up instantly.

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“We watched the video where you dipped your croissant in cappuccino at your cafe and wanted you to try our local version,” we explain nervously. “This is nice,” came his enthusiastic response via a translator. “This is the first time a journalist has brought me food and drinks.” Whew.

After a brief explanation, we watch the patissier, looking suave in a black outfit and slicked-back hair, carefully sink the you tiao into his cup of kopi. “I really like it,” he says approvingly after a bite. “It reminds me of French doughnuts called bugnes.”  He goes on to share an anecdote that inspired the now-viral video, which attracted 170M views and inspired countless replications by ardent fans who went to his shop and did the same thing with his croissants and coffee.  “It was my grandma who taught me how to do it (dipping croissants in coffee). Where I come from in Central France, it’s pretty cold, so we always mix the cold and the hot together. It’s a traditional way to enjoy food,” he shares.

Pied Piper of pastry used to be bothered by copycats 

Stories like this are the personal touches that Cédric deems essential in everything he does – whether it's for filming a video or creating a new dessert. It doesn’t matter that the renowned pastry chef, who owns two eponymous boutiques in Paris and one in London, already has millions of followers (8Mil on Instagram, if you’re counting). He’s also in charge of pastries at two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse within the historic Parisian hotel. “If I don’t feel [passionate about something], I won’t do it. It’s all or nothing for me,” he asserts. 

It used to bother the pastry craftsman, who began his career at French gourmet food chain Fauchon, to see his work being copied. “In the beginning, it was difficult for me to see that people copied what I did in my [pastry-making] videos. I’d post something and it’d be copied within the next hour. Nowadays, [I tell myself that] if people are copying me, I’m probably doing something right. I want to be constantly creative and challenge myself,” he says.

Photo: Aik Chen/8 Days

Has nightmares about “nobody showing up” at his Singapore shop

Despite his fame and influence, Cédric is refreshingly earnest, thoughtful and exudes an all-round nice guy vibe. His humility reaches new heights when 8days.sg asks him how he feels about his upcoming Singapore debut. 

“I have nightmares about nobody showing up,” he answers. Er… really? We remind him that long lines are a fixture at his Paris shops, where queues can take more than three hours (yes, he is aware). Dismissing our incredulity, he continues: “I’m very excited, but I’m also very worried about how it’s going to go. My team is confident, but I’m always stressed that nobody is going to show up. I give 100 percent to my work, so it puts me under a lot of pressure, but it’s a positive pressure. It makes me want to work more and give more [to everything I do].”

What would Cédric buy if he had to queue at Cédric Grolet Singapore?

8days.sg asks Cédric what he’d get if he had to queue for his own pastries at the Singapore outpost. “What time am I queuing?” he replies, clearly amused but treating our outrageous question with more seriousness than we deserve. Whenever the wait would be the longest, we say. “Ah, then it’s the morning. Morning has the longest queues,” he muses, referring to his Paris patisseries.

“I’ll take a cappuccino and a pain suisse (the name refers to a Swiss brioche bun),” he says finally. “I always have one [at my shops]. The pain suisse is not like my other creations. I’ve modified it while respecting the true nature of the pastry. Originally, the pastry was made with brioche. To give it a twist, we’re using a different type of dough and we make it with chocolate chips and creme patissiere (a rich, creamy custard).” 

Exclusive SG creations like ‘dragon fruit’ and mooncakes

The Singapore outpost (see video below at unfinished SG site where Como group founder Christina Ong, wife of Ong Beng Seng, makes a rare appearance) will feature a pastry boutique and cafe offering both dine-in and takeaway. While the menu has not been finalised yet, Cédric says we can expect “all the classics” like his famous croissant, flan and pain suisse. There will also be sandwiches and a special tea menu. Moreover, Cédric has modelled one of his famous surrealist fruit-like cakes after dragon fruit, as a Singapore outlet exclusive. 

The dramatic, irregular shape of the tropical fruit posed a unique challenge for Cédric and his team. “It’s not regular, so we can’t use a mould and we have to do everything manually to make it look natural,” he explains. “The fruit is also quite neutral as it doesn’t have [strong, distinct flavours], so it was one of the more challenging creations [we’ve made so far].” What made him pick the tricky ingredient? He sums it up simply: “Because nobody has done it before. I want to create something unique and unprecedented.”

Rendered images of Cédric Grolet Singapore’s cafe.
 

Another Singapore-only item is a mooncake-inspired creation, which Cédric considers to be a quintessential Asian confection. While the details of this pastry are under wraps for now, it’s clear that Cédric has done his research – the stylish Frenchman proudly flaunts his bright yellow bunny print pants (a nod to the Mid-Autumn Festival’s Jade Rabbit) during our photoshoot.

His fab videos take more than 10 hours to produce

Cédric’s whimsical dessert videos on Instagram and TikTok may be short, but it can take more than 10 hours to produce each reel. He used to do everything himself until a few months ago. “It became too much for me to handle on my own so I’ve passed it on to a team now.” 

What’s the process like? “In general, we have three pastry chefs for the mise en place (food prep) and one person who would film and edit the video. It takes about two to five hours for filming, and another two to five hours for post-production,” says Cedric, who dedicates two days a week just for filming. “We try to do two to three videos per week. It’s becoming more challenging – with every opening [of a new shop], we’re gonna have to make more videos.” Gulp.

Celeb cameos in videos, including actress Zoe Saldaña

To make his content harder to replicate, Cédric recently started featuring celebrities in his videos – including Avatar star Zoe Saldaña, who learned to bake fruit tarts with the pastry chef at his Le Meurice shop in Paris. More celebrity collaborations are in the pipeline, including footballers and Formula 1 drivers, with Lewis Hamilton at the top of his wishlist.

Don’t expect any Singaporean personalities to turn up on his feed anytime soon, though. For his Singapore debut, the pastry chef plans to focus on “showing what we can do first”, referring to his impressive repertoire of confections. 

“People feel like they own me”

During our chat, Cédric opens up about the challenges of social media fame. “It’s very exhausting. In France, as soon as I leave my apartment, I get asked for photos. People feel like they own me, or that they know everything about me. When they see me on the street, they ask for a picture or talk to me like I’m their friend. It’s super tiring, but it’s a part of my duty. I want to be there for my fans and followers as much as possible. When I show up, I make sure I’m at my best,” he shares.

Even with its downsides, Cédric would not change his life in any way. “I’m thankful everyday. I have an amazing life and social media is a part of it. It’s not easy, but someone once told me that you have to pay a ‘tax’ for fame. You have to accept and live with it.”

Photo: Aik Chen/8 Days

If Cédric Grolet weren’t the best pastry chef in the world, he’d be…

“A footballer. From (age) seven to nine, I was in a local football club and I was kind of a rising star,” he says. On behalf of pastry fiends all over the world, we say football’s loss is our gain.

Cédric Grolet Singapore opens early Sept at Como Orchard, 30 Bideford Rd, S229922. Open daily 9am - 9pm. More info via their website. 

Photos: Aik Chen/8 Days, Como Group, Cédric Grolet/Instagram 

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