India Today Spice to Host a High Tea With France's Picasso of Pastry on March 10

NEW DELHI, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

France's most celebrated patissier, Pierre Hermé, described by Vogue magazine as The Picasso of Pastry, will spend an afternoon with Delhi's leading pastry chefs and social media gourmets, taking them on a journey of flavours and tastes on Monday, March 10, at Le Cirque, The Leela Palace New Delhi. Hermé will be in India, his first visit to the country arranged by the Embassy of France, to speak and curate a high tea at the India Today Conclave being held on March 7-8.

The youngest person to be named France's Pastry Chef of the Year, and the only member of his profession to be inducted into the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, the French equivalent of a knighthood, Herme is best-known for his macaroons, his most famous creation being the olive oil and vanilla macaroon.

Accolades have rained on this heir to four generations of an Alsatian bakery and pastry making tradition. Paris Match magazine has called Herme the "magician with tastes", The New York Times hailed him as "The Kitchen Emperor" and The Guardian described him as "The King of Modern Pâtisserie". Herme, 52, who started apprenticing with the pastry-making legend, Gaston Lenotre, at age 14, has revolutionised his craft with his original philosophy of taste, sensations and pleasure. He was one, for instance, who promoted the idea of the use of sugar as salt -- "as a seasoning to heighten other shades of flavour".

When Desserts by Pierre Hermé was released in 1999, the world therefore wasn't surprised to see him overturning established norms by marrying unusual ingredients, such as black pepper and an optional sliver of habanero in his Warm Chocolate and Banana Tart, or a basil chiffonade as garnishing for his Basmati Rice and Fruits-of-the-Moment Salad. He's a thinking person's pastry chef and a successful business baron who made the idea of 'Patisserie Haute Couture' an international statement of style, which has powered the growth of his chain of pastry shops from Tokyo in 1998 to France, England, Hong Kong, Qatar and Dubai.

Before he launched his empire of taste, Herme was the pastry chef for 11 years for the French fine food merchant, Fauchon, and in 1997, he was involved with the expansion of another French institution, the luxury bakery, Laduree. He brings to New Delhi this vast experience and he will be here to talk about his life's journey with "pleasure as the only guide".

Contact:

Vishwalok Nath

Sr. General Manager

Marketing & Syndications

India Today Group

E-mail: vishwalok.nath@intoday.com