“The Architecture of Taste” — Pierre Hermé at Harvard GSD

I conceived and organized a November 2012 event in which world-renowned pastry chef Pierre Hermé deconstructed a series of conceptual desserts. The conversations of that night also bred a recent GSD publication, The Architecture of Taste, the first in a book series copublished by the GSD and Sternberg Press called The Incidents.

On November 27, 2012, world-renowned pastry chef pierre hermé arrived at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design from Paris. He brought five chefs, two assistants, 600 sheets of gelatin, 150 eggs, 68 pounds of caster sugar, 40 pounds of unsalted butter, 32 pounds of cream, 25 pounds of milk chocolate couverture, 11 pounds of grated wasabi, and the alchemic techniques to transform his ingredients into an elaborate “lecture de pâtisserie.”

Together with Sanford Kwinter and Savinien Caracostea, he methodically deconstructed four conceptual desserts for an audience of 400 spectator-diners. The Architecture of Taste recaptures this magical night and the physiological effects of Hermé’s pastry visions.

Pierre Hermé is widely considered to be the world’s foremost pastry chef. He comes from four generations of pastry chefs and bakers; he began his career at age of 14 with Gaston Lenôtre. He went on to be pastry chef for Fauchon and Ladurée in Paris before beginning his own enterprise in Japan. His first boutique opened in Paris, in 2002, and he soon became a sensation as a young pastry star. He is author of several books including Desserts by Pierre Hermé (1998) and Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé (2001), with food writer Dorie Greenspan; and Pierre Hermé Pastries (2012) with Laurent Fau. He was awarded the Chevalier de Légion d’Honneur, by Jacques Chirac in 2007.