"I use the ingredients when they're really ripe so the desserts have the most intense flavour possible."

In November 2019, the Shangri-La luxury hotel in Paris hired a young pastry chef with a very high level of pastry expertise. Hiring Maxence Barbot, then 29 years old, was not a risky move for the hotel, as the pastry chef had previously demonstrated his exceptional talent in some of Paris' most prestigious luxury hotels. 

After completing his pastry diploma with a specialisation in restaurant desserts, Maxence was immediately recruited to the luxury hotel Plaza Athénée, where he worked under the guidance of world-renowned pastry chef Christophe Michalak. From there, it was almost a direct path to the pastry team at the Four Seasons-George V hotel, followed again by the Plaza Athénée. There he was appointed sous-chef and, together with pastry chef Angelo Musa, created the five-star pastry menu on Avenue Montaigne. From there he was invited to the Shangri-La Hotel. Maxence Barbot is unanimous in the industry and among food critics in his commitment to excellence in all aspects of pastry making. His tea-time dessert creations are as elegant, simple and imaginative as his plate desserts. His signature pastries are his buttery puff pastry cakes, his fruit tarts and his chocolate plate desserts.

On his course in Budapest, he will show you how to make almost all of her specialities. What is the philosophy behind his work? "I like to reinterpret the great French classic desserts in my own way," he wrote in response to our question.

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