Gregoire Michaud

Is bread the staff of life? Bread is a gift and essence of nature.

My name is Gregoire Michaud, I’m a master of brown crusts and aromatic pastry.

I was born in 1975, and was surrounded by nature from my very childhood. And not with a garden, but with original beautiful and mighty trees, flowers and smells. My family still keeps a prosperous farm in Switzerland and grows products and grapes there.

My mother became my teacher in cooking. I was inspired by her example, followed her advice and kept breaking conventional rules. I’m sure she was secretly proud of my freethinking. Although proper doughing, choice of flour and the magic of bread crafting in general is a very conservative business.

Somehow, I’ve been a chef for more than 20 years. I’m a pastry chef, although I started as an assistant of bakery manager. At some point, I felt I didn’t have enough theoretical background and knowledge of modern management methods to work effectively. And I didn’t hesitate to come back to Lausanne to obtain a degree in the required disciplines.

Of course, the greatest achievements of my career are still to come. In the meantime, one of the highlights of my life is being an opening pastry chef of a restaurant in Four Seasons Hotel in Hong-Kong. And do you know what inspires the most for new achievements? Awards. Yes, official recognition motivates a lot. And I’m no exception. All the more, two restaurants of the network has been awarded with 3 Michelin stars each. This means we are capable, this means we are a great and successful team, ready to conquer new peaks.

Apart from baking bread, conversing with nature and receiving awards, my “modest” biography hides 5 published cookbooks and the fact I was named 2013 Tatler Best Pastry Chef for Macau and Hong Kong.

I appreciate the real taste of products a lot. That’s why even when I have some free time, I enjoy cooking, study new tastes and discover unseen methods. I’m sure it is never late to learn. And it’s stupid not to do it.

Today, my name is tightly connected with my “child” – unique Bread Elements project. Its name is a tribute to 4 nature elements. By the way, there are four of us – its creators – as well. I think, fertile Earth, life-giving Water, refreshing Air and hot Fire create an ideal harmony. And we recreate it each time we craft our bread. The project is unique because we’re neither confectionary, nor bakery. We bake for luxury restaurants, hotels and cafes. Baguettes, croissants or buns for breakfast – all our creations are something more than just a lump of baked dough. They are elegant partners and companions for dishes and aperitifs, accurately playing difficult gastronomic parts.