Yazid ICHEMRAHEN

Born in Épernay to a French mother and an absent Moroccan father, Yazid Ichemrahen "discovered pastry-making at the age of two and a half". Placed in foster care at an early age, he was raised by the couple he considers his uncle and aunt - whom he affectionately calls his auntie and uncle - both pastry chefs at Leclerc and Carrefour. It was their two sons, Laurent and Danny, who introduced him to pastry-making at an early age. One of his fondest memories is: "Every Wednesday, we'd make a yoghurt cake. it got me out of a daily routine that was sometimes a bit harmful. "

A vocation born of urgency

Placed in a home from the age of two after a difficult childhood, Yazid Ichemrahen discovered pastry-making as a way of escaping his unstable daily life and finding his own path. Attracted to desserts from an early age, he began learning the trade at the age of 14 and obtained his CAP before being trained by some of the great names in the discipline: Pascal Caffet, who took him on as an apprentice, then Angelo Musa at Pâtisserie des Rêves, and finally with Joël Robuchon at Métropole in Monaco, where he became sous-chef at just 19. In 2014, at the age of 22, he won the title of World Champion of Frozen Desserts, becoming the youngest champion of all pastry competitions.

Three months after his title, he opened a store in Avignon with Bernard Blachet. Later, Yazid decided to leave him and set up his own group. The opening in Mykonos launches a rapid expansion: Courchevel, Avignon, Gstaad, Qatar (Doha), Bahrain...

From Monaco to the Royal Monceau: a philosophy of taste

Arriving at the Royal Monceau in January 2024, he imposes a clear vision: "I set out to make cakes in three textures, simple but millimetric. "With chef Alexandre Fabre, he has completely overhauled sourcing: milk, eggs and cream are now all sourced from producers he has met "face-to-face". He claims that his patisserie is easy to understand: "Luxury is not about adding a whole bunch of things. The customer is not a food critic. Everything has to create a particular emotion. Emotion isn't about liking or disliking. It's about remembering," he says.

At Home: restaurant, gallery and intimate space

In September 2025, the chef opened At Home, at 44 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs, a 270 m² hybrid space conceived as his own apartment, featuring a restaurant, a boutique and a laboratory open onto the street for greater transparency. "I slept outside when I first came to Paris. I didn't want to make yet another pastry shop. I wanted to make my own apartment and welcome people into my home. "The place blurs the boundaries between intimacy and creation, with a hushed atmosphere, minimalist design by Galotti, sketches printed on Dibon and a scenography of the terracotta bowl from his first cake.

A veritable sensory showcase, At Home tells its story through every detail. "The idea is to create a place that tells my story through my patisserie. "

From a difficult childhood to palaces, Yazid Ichemrahen has built a personal approach: transmit, serve, tell. "You share a little of yourself in every dessert. "It's a journey in which pastry-making becomes as much a profession as a means of reconstruction.