Pierre Hermé

A fourth-generation Alsatian pastry chef, trained at Lenôtre at the age of 14, Pierre Hermé founded his own company in 1996 with Charles Znaty and opened his first boutique in Tokyo before Paris. Nicknamed the "Picasso of pastry," he has made the macaron a canvas for creativity, with Ispahan (rose, raspberry, and lychee) being a prime example, and established his Fetish and haute pâtisserie collections as veritable sweet parades. His company embodies a French auteur style of pastry where sugar recedes into the background, allowing the architecture of flavor to take center stage.