Speculoos macaron

Julien Alvarez is a World Pastry Champion and the Executive Chef at Ladurée.

Julien Alvarez has always been immersed in the world of gastronomy: his father was a chef in the South-West of France. However, he initially followed a general school curriculum, and only turned to cooking after graduating from High School. He then set off on an apprenticeship, first tempted by cooking, then persuaded by an excellent Bergerac pastry chef to try his hand at the world of sweets.

After a four-year apprenticeship, he moved to Barcelona and worked for an avant-garde pastry shop. He was then contacted by Angelo Musa and launched the Pâtisserie des Rêves. Following that experience, he worked as an instructor at the Bellouet Conseil school for three years, before being hired as Head Pastry Chef at the Peninsula Hotel in Paris when it first opened. It is there that he was introduced to the hotel and restaurant pastry industries.
Two years later, a career move led him to become Executive Chef at Café Pouchkine but soon after, at the request of Éric Fréchon, he became Pastry Chef at the Bristol in Paris. After four years working at the famous Parisian palace, he returned to the world of boutique pastry-making and he became Ladurée's International Executive Chef, famous all over the world for its macarons.

Julien Alvarez has always had a competitive spirit: a keen sportsman (he studied cycling), he has been interested in competitions since his apprenticeship. In 2011, he won the prestigious World Pastry Cup with the Spanish team.

For VoilaChef, Julien Alvarez introduces us to the secrets of luxury pastry-making and teaches us three recipes, ideal for a gourmet and festive Christmas: citrus tartlets inspired by oriental baklavas, macarons with spicy Speculoos cookie flavors and an intensely flavored vanilla pecan log.