Crowned World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2019, the 35-year-old, who innovates with her atypical and only slightly sweet creations, will be one of the ambassadors at the helm of the French pavilion at the upcoming world’s fair, Expo 2020,1 in Dubai.
Pastry chef Jessica Préalpato, who in 2019 became the first woman to win the coveted World’ Best Pastry Chef title, will be the ambassador at the French pavilion at Dubai World Expo, alongside the astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who returns from the ISS in October.
“Participating in an adventure like the French pavilion is a fabulous opportunity for me to display the culinary daring that is an integral part of our cultural heritage,”
explained the 35-year-old woman, the pastry chef at Alain Ducasse’s top-rated, three-star restaurant at the Plaza Athénée Hotel. “Being devoted to healthier food that is more respectful of the environment, I am proud to make my contribution to France’s reputation for art de vivre on the international scene.”
– Barbecued Apricots
Strawberries with spruce-tip syrup, peaches, and apricots on the barbecue with sage sorbet, peanuts from the Pyrénées blended with fresh soy milk, roasted cherries with rice chips, and more, Jessica Préalpato stands out in the world of sweet cuisine. She never hesitates to use uncommon techniques for desserts and that “reveal flavors,” like cooking on a barbecue, a grill, or a sheet pan. Another signature trait: ingredient-driven recipes and a light touch with sugar, which she uses as a seasoning, in the vein of the “naturality” Alain Ducasse extols.
– From psych class to the kitchen
Born 35 years ago into a family of bread-and-pastry bakers, in Mont de Marsan (Landes), Jessica Préalpato started out majoring in psychology in college. But she soon realized that pastry was her true passion, so she switched to the hotel-restaurant school in Biarritz, where she followed the “restaurant dessert chef” program, graduating with honors.
After having trained with some of the biggest names in current French cuisine, including Philippe Labbé and Philippe Etchebest, she was hired as a pastry chef by the Corfou group, which gave her a chance to travel around France and the world (Dubai, Beirut, Japan and elsewhere), enhancing her skills, her imagination and her repertoire with local methods and products.
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