Pierre Hermé : "A book remains, where a dessert is ephemeral"

How did you get the idea for this Dictionnaire Amoureux?

Everything started from a discussion with Julie Mathieu, the founder of Fou de Pâtisserie, during which we noticed that there was no dictionary about pastry in this long collection. I suggested the idea to the editor, and after 3 years of exchange and writing work, we have this book in front of us.

What was the criterion for selecting each word?

There were evidences like the great pastry products: milk, eggs, flour, chocolate, but also certain utensils—whisk, spatula — as well as historical words such as that of Antoine Carême, and countries that marked me, inevitably Japan, which has mattered a lot in my career.

The exercise is different from collecting recipes, did you enjoy writing it?

Yes, because I particularly appreciate words, their meaning, I like to give them a meaning. This love dictionary allows to expose a personal point of view; it is a dictionary, but with my own interpretation of each of the terms that appear there.

You are the author of about thirty books, a majority of recipes' ones; for what purpose do you write?

The book is a wonderful means of transmission. I wrote books with the sole purpose of transmitting to the general public. We published the Larousse des Desserts 30 years ago, and it will be republished, which proves that it is a work that lasts, and which, after so many years, continues to be a means of transmitting know-how. A book remains, lasts in time, where a dessert is ephemeral, disappears. That’s what interests me in publishing books, doing something lasting over time, unlike a dessert.

Do you read the pastry books of your colleagues?

Yes! I had some favorites among which La Gourmandise Raisonnée by Frédéric Bau, and I regularly consult cookery books. I often quote as examples the Tout Robuchon, a wonderful work, as well as the first book by Michel Bras, Bras, Laguiole, Aubrac, France. These are references because they are more than recipe books, they certainly talk about the ingredients but also about the inspirations of the chefs, they express a vision.

In Pierre Hermé library

Biographies
Unfortunately, I do not read enough as I wish, but I always take pleasure in discovering all kinds of books, most often following the recommendations of my loved ones. I am fond of biographies: I devoured that of Yves Saint Laurent by Laurence Benaïm and well liked Beautiful People by Alicia Drake which tells the crossed destinies of Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld.

Bedside book
Without hesitation, In praise of Shadows, by the Japanese writer Junichirō Tanizaki, if I had to keep only one book, it would be this one! By the same author, Diary of a Mad Old Man is just as incredible. These two books are all the more interesting as they are a magnificent gateway to Japanese literature.

Romans or not romans?
I sometimes read novels, but I have to confess that  I have an unfortunate tendency to forget them immediately... It’s less my thing, I prefer deeper stories.