Few names are as recognizable in the culinary arts as Pastry Chef Jean Philippe. One of the world’s top pastry chefs, he is an inspiration to those who dream of creating chocolates, desserts and confectionery delights. If you dream of entering this nice of food service, and are searching for a mentor or are looking for a bit of inspiration and motivation as you pursue your career path – one look at his achievements is all you need. But where did he grow up, how did he enter the Pastry Arts, and what are his dreams and aspirations?
During his childhood in the South of France, Jean Philippe grew up in a town called Perpignan. Unlike other children who were inspired by sports or academics, he enjoyed spending hours in the kitchen making cakes with his aunt. Even though she did not have formal training in the Pastry Arts, he was able to be inspired by these confectionery delights – and learned basic baking and mixing skills. Eventually, at age 17 he took this knowledge and enrolled at L’Ecole Hoteliere du Moulin a Vent where he learned techniques in pastry, chocolate, confections and ice cream.
In 1987, he completed his pastry school training and received a “Professional Aptitude Certificate.” But prior to his graduation, he gained further inspiration, training and skills from Chef Gerard Bertin. During this month of training, Chef Bertin became Jean-Philippe’s mentor and pushed his abilities to new lengths. However, he was unaware how motivational and life-changing this month would be, but the results were visible to the world ten years later. In 1997, Jean Philippe won his first series of awards – including “Meilleur Ouvrier de France!” (This translates to Best Pastry Chef in France, and is one of the top pastry chef awards in the world.)
One year later, Pastry Chef Jean Philippe moved to America where he was hired as Executive Pastry Chef for the Bellagio in Las Vegas. However, this is not your average pastry chef job! Instead of overseeing the dessert production, menu planning and organization at one restaurant, he is responsible for 17 establishments with a team of 70 employees. At first glance you may think that less than 100 staff members is a bit small to care for this many restaurants. However, this team is truly amazing – and with their hard work, skills and dedication they produce over 15,000 pastries or more per day.
But his accomplishments did not stop there, and he set out to achieve all of his dreams. In 2002, he joined the World Pastry Team Championship, and in 2004 he became the team coach. Each time, his team brought home a Gold Medal – making him one of the famous pastry chefs of the world today. Since then he has become executive pastry chef at the Aria hotel and oversees all the responsibilities at his two personal pastry establishments both named The Jean Philippe Patisserie.
Pastry Chef Jean Philippe is an excellent example of what you can achieve if you pursue your dreams, no matter what they are. So if you are thinking about changing career paths, or entering this profession as a high school graduate, always keep your goals and dreams in mind – and one day, you may be one of the best pastry chefs in the nation or world too!
