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Gastronomy
2023 results
THE GRAINES DE PÂTISSIER PROGRAM
Graines de Pâtissier is a pre-apprenticeship program that allows young people who are currently not in employment to try out the role of pastry chef and find a potential mentor for their apprenticeship. With this program, the Valrhona Foundation aims to connect young people who are planning their careers with makers looking for reliable, highly motivated apprentices.
Since 2017, the program has welcomed 430 young people. 53% of them (228 young people) are employed or in training in the food trades following the program.
A school and committed chefs
L’École Valrhona is the center of expertise for chocolate and pastry making that brings together the biggest names in sweet cuisine from all over the world. As a group of chef instructors, our ambition is to share our know-how and our vision with our colleagues.
Every day, we are committed to promoting creative, inclusive and ethical gastronomy so that, together, we may take action and push back the boundaries of gastronomy. Some examples of more sustainable practices implemented by the School in 2023:
- Long-term partnerships with local suppliers
- Replacing all disposable items with durable ones (trays, tasting spoons, etc.)
- Composting organic waste
- Using green cleaning products
Reasonable Essentials
Created by L’École Valrhona under the leadership of Frédéric Bau, the Essentials are a collection of basic recipes which has become a pastry-making benchmark. This indispensable resource, last updated in 2018, returns in 2023 with more than 20 recipes reworked from the perspective of Reasonable Indulgence.
This philosophy, created by Frédéric Bau, is a bold approach that rethinks traditional pastry, improving its nutritional qualities without ever compromising on flavor. Now, the School’s Research & Development teams and pastry chefs will be tackling a new chapter: cookies! Always following the same protocol: unlearning techniques, gestures and reflexes that have been repeated and passed down for generations, in order to “become aware” and think up new codes, the outcome of hundreds of trial runs.
First Sustainable Cooking Competition
In 2023, Valrhona made a commitment to the Foundation for Sustainable Cuisine by Olivier Ginon by becoming a patron of the Sustainable Cuisine Competition. True to its DNA, it continues to support the world of gastronomy through pioneering and innovative initiatives. Dedicated to the young generation of chefs, this competition addresses the major challenges of future gastronomy, such as the use of local and seasonal produce, zero waste, respect for air quality, food preservation, energy use, etc., in a creative and modern approach. The aim of this new national competition was to promote best practices and the pillars of ethical cooking, to put farmers back in the spotlight and reinstate communication between chefs and farmers.
Valrhona sponsored this first edition in 2023, and the brand is still committed to co-creating the Sustainable Patisserie Competition with the Foundation and Maison Pierre Hermé in 2024
Our subsidiaries are committed to culinary arts
Whether in Dubaï, Spain, Japan, China, South Africa, Asia-Pacific or Italy, Valrhona's subsidiaries are involved in the field, carrying out projects in partnership with gastronomy professionals and with local associations.
