Yann Brys in 5 desserts
Essonne-based pastry chef Yann Brys reveals five creations that perfectly represent his world. Among other things, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France talks about his now-famous tourbillon.
Meilleur Ouvrier de France pâtissier 2011, Yann Brys has turned gesture into a language. Creative director at Dalloyau before founding his own company, he has imposed a style that is instantly recognizable: that of the whirlwind. With a blend of technique and emotion, precision and generosity, he presents here five creations that tell the story of his career and his taste for transmission.
His signature creation: the Tourbillon
It's his signature, and it's become universal. In 2004, while working at Dalloyau, Yann Brys tried to "scratch a different line" on a galette des rois. He then placed the galette on a turntable: the design was born of movement. The graphic, hypnotic visual was an instant hit. A few years later, for Mother's Day, he transposed this idea to a rose-shaped cake and imagined a swirling poaching process. The precise, fluid gesture became a new pastry-making language. In 2010, at the Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition, he presented a swirled lemon tartlet: the signature was born. Since then, the Tourbillon has become his emblem, adopted the world over. "I love passing on and sharing. I'm happy if I can leave a trace in my profession", he confides.
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His creation, the basis for many others: the Trocadéro cookie
A flourless, gluten-free cookie made with starch and whipped cream. Soft, melting and universally delicious. Yann Brys gives it a name that speaks to everyone: Trocadéro. Versatile, it slips into entremets, is eaten like a travel cake, and adapts to all kinds of dried fruit. "It's a multi-purpose cookie, simple and generous, in the image of what I like in pastry-making" A free, open base, to be personalized according to your desires.
Her best Christmas log: the bergamot cloud
The year he earned his MOF title, Yann Brys became Creative Director at Dalloyau. For Christmas, he imagined a cloud-shaped log, all softness and roundness. inside, an Italian meringue cream lightened with whipped cream, offering absolute lightness. The fragrance, bergamot, is unprecedented in pastry-making. All around, scented lollipops to accompany coffee, a nod to childhood and the conviviality of Christmas. "I wanted something generous, airy, a little magical", he recalls.
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His recipe for a convivial moment: the cubic religieuse
This dessert was born at a tea party with friends. "Christophe Adam and Christophe Michalak had founded the Club des Sucrés, so that pastry chefs could get together from time to time for a convivial moment. for the occasion, everyone would bring a home-made pastry. The theme of one of these meetings was the nun. I chose to break with the codes by making two stacked cubic choux, modern and playful. The surprise was hidden inside, with a small non-alcoholic cocktail, to be drunk through a straw slipped into the choux", recalls Yann Brys. Beyond the shape, the pastry chef also innovated on the flavor front, with pineapple cabbage and hints of pina colada. "It was fun, quirky, while remaining very pastry-like."
His regressive creation: the chocolate bar
For a regressive moment, Yann Brys revisited the Duplo of his childhood in a creation somewhere between confectionery and haute pâtisserie.
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Lime caramel, ganache and creamy coconut, five little spheres like so many gourmet bites. "I wanted to rediscover the generosity of the chocolate bar, but with the freshness and precision of a chef's dessert." A lesson in balance between nostalgia and modernity.
