Nicolas Paciello reveals the desserts that changed his career
Nicolas Paciello reveals himself! Discover his sweet journey through five signature pastries, which will tell you more about the chef's gourmet universe.
Nicolas Paciello has established himself as one of the most sensitive and creative figures in contemporary French patisserie. After making his name at the Prince of Wales alongside Stéphanie Le Quellec, he went on to become an entrepreneur with CinqSens and Nicolas Paciello Pâtisserie. For him, taste comes before gesture, memory before showmanship, and his desserts are readable and comforting, but always driven by a strong idea: a product in the spotlight, a story to tell, a technical detail that changes everything.
From the chocolate buckwheat tart that marked his debut to his now signature "Mini M", here are five creations that tell the story of his career, his risk-taking and his obsession.
The early dessert: the chocolate buckwheat tart
To begin with, Nicolas Paciello tells us without hesitation about the chocolate-buckwheat tart, created at the Prince of Wales when he had just won his first position as head pastry chef. "I was working alongside Stéphanie Le Quellec, and I absolutely had to innovate," he recalls. At the time, the chef was offering a lobster with buckwheat, and the idea was born almost instinctively to transpose this rustic cereal into a dessert. "The gluten-free buckwheat dough was baked to develop a clean, toasted cookie taste," explains Nicolas Paciello. The ganache, freshly emulsified and poured at the minute, provides the creaminess. A few roasted buckwheat seeds and a hint of fleur de sel liven things up. "It's a simple but original recipe," he explains. Presented individually, sometimes as a mignardise, the tart will remain on the menu for almost five years, and will even be made into a log.
The creation that left a lasting impression: vanilla in the spirit of a Norwegian omelette
Stéphanie Le Quellec is a big fan of vanilla. during the Prince of Wales period, she encouraged Nicolas Paciello to explore this delicate product in an original dessert. He imagined a dessert that was both theatrical and precise. at the table, the waiter presents a cigar box containing three vanillas of different origins (often Madagascar, Tahiti or Mexico). The customer chooses the flavor that will punctuate the finale of his plate, before discovering a puck, 12 centimeters in diameter and two centimeters high, a minute-burnt Italian meringue with muscovado sugar, covered with a very fine opaline and a shower of dried vanilla. Under the spoon, the meringue gives way to reveal an intensely flavored ice cream. "You could find the spoonful in a vanilla ice cream," he describes. Graphic, elegant and resolutely gourmet, the dessert earned him the applause of many chefs and sealed his association with Stéphanie Le Quellec."It marked our collaboration."
The dessert he's most proud of: La Ruche
For Christmas 2022, at CinqSens, Nicolas Paciello imagines an obvious dessert: La Ruche. "I think it's one of my finest desserts, as much in design as in taste and history," he assures us. The object arrives at the table like a real beehive. Each slice is designed as a honeycomb drawer, which is extracted like a frame of honey. The visual effect is strong, but it doesn't stand on its own. To develop this dessert and better understand the product, the chef spent a week in Ardèche with his beekeeper, Nicolas Bourg. Even today, this dessert remains a source of inspiration for Nicolas Paciello. "When I try to make complex creations, I base myself on this one."
The dessert that never leaves the menu: Paris-Brest
In his Nicolas Paciello Pâtisserie boutique, the classic is the benchmark. The Paris-Brest hazelnut praline has been with him since he opened. "I don't take it away; people eat it every Sunday. It's the family cake", he enthuses. Graphically, it's poached lengthwise and uncluttered. The praline is homemade, and the traditional buttercream is replaced by a lighter, more contemporary hazelnut ganache. "It's the dessert I take with me when I go somewhere and people don't know my patisserie yet," he explains. A sweet calling card, true to his taste for reworked classics without betraying them.
The new travel cake: Mini M
Finally, there are those little morsels that perhaps resemble him more than any other. Les Mini M were born of a desire to offer a different kind of travel cake, one that was both regressive and singular. "I needed a dessert that looked like me," he says. These spherical cakes, hollowed out on top and filled at the heart, are sold individually or in boxes of 6 or 12.
Vanilla fleur de sel, hazelnut praline, pistachio orange blossom, lemon yuzu, marbré, raspberry ginger... the palette has expanded to twelve flavors. The cakes are dipped in syrups or juices to further intensify the flavors. Colorful, playful and immediately identifiable, they have established themselves as "a competitor to the macaroon in boxed format".
