Matthieu Carlin X Victoria Wilmotte: a pastry chef, a designer, a collab

Gault&Millau meets Matthieu Carlin, head pastry chef at the Hôtel de Crillon, and designer Victoria Wilmotte. A gourmet tête-à-tête that resulted in a refined and fascinating Yule log. The latter is, of course, included in our selection of the most beautiful palace logs for Christmas 2023.

How did you come to meet Matthieu Carlin?

Matthieu Carlin : I wanted a collaboration that made sense. Victoria had already designed furniture for the hotel, so I went to discover her world. I immediately felt at home with her creations, which are apparently simple but require a colossal amount of work, which is also what I'm looking for when I create a dessert. The movement she gives to her shapes immediately appealed to me. Beyond that, I appreciate her human qualities and her approach. Collaborating is a job that requires you to give yourself away, to reveal yourself, it's quite intimate. You need to connect with the other person.

Victoria Wilmotte : We met naturally. I immediately identified with Matthieu's rigor. He's as meticulous a technician as I am in my work. We use the same technical vocabulary, we both work with materials, we both use molds, so we immediately understood each other in terms of creativity and constraints.

How did you go about imagining this collaboration?

M.C .: Victoria's Zigzag creations give the appearance of movement through cut angles, the interplay of full and empty, and folding. We adapted the dimensions, retaining the design but placing the object horizontally for practical cutting purposes. The challenge was the rounding, the most difficult part was the aftermath. I had to find reassuring tastes to contrast with the modernity of the log. Once we'd defined the design, working with the ingredients turned us into architects of assembly, hold and texture. My team and I started with childhood memories: rice pudding, creamy caramel and cookie. I broke up the sweetness with the lactic acidity of a Petit Suisse mousse. For the texture, we decided on a base of crispy puffed rice.

V.W .: Everything came together in a very fluid way. I work with metal, steel and bending. Matthieu immediately wanted me to like the design, right down to the smallest detail. I had some objects in mind that could be adapted to our log project. We got together around these shapes, which could become vases or table legs! Then we worked on the requirements for making a Palace log: weight, volume of ingredients, white color. Matthieu worked on taste. Together, we evaluated each stage of production, each prototype. In the end, we opted for simplicity and minimalism, and the log came naturally to us, with the movement it gets from folding and the purity of its color. I immediately drew a parallel with my work in powder-coated steel.

Is collaboration synonymous with freedom or constraint?

M.C .: Collaboration is a challenge, because we're both thinking along the same lines, and it's a positive constraint. It allows us to go where we wouldn't go alone, to enrich ourselves, to move towards greater freedom of expression.

V.W . : First of all, it's a constraint because I usually work alone. Working with another designer seems complicated to me today, but working with another world, in this case that of patisserie, has been a fabulous experience, with everyone bringing their own expertise to the table. More than just a constraint, working together means having to follow a set of specifications.

What have you gained from this collaboration?

M.C .: It reinforced my idea that you have to accept simplicity. A movement, for example, is self-sufficient. A simple, geometric expression is enough to catch the eye; there's no need to add artifice. It was also important to me that the design should appeal to Victoria in every way. I think this challenge was met.

V.W . : I'll remember the fluidity, the speed of execution and the fun factor. I never imagined myself entering the laboratories of theHôtel de Crillon, so I felt privileged. I'll also remember that pastry-making is a difficult job, and I was struck by the importance given to the order of ingredients. Matthieu projects himself by imagining what the textures might provoke in the mouth. It's fascinating!