The character arc of Pierre Herme
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 20 November 1961, heir to four generations of Alsatian bakery and pastry-making. Between then and now sit an arrival in Paris at fourteen to begin an apprenticeship with Gaston Lenotre, the title of France Pastry Chef of the Year taken younger than anybody before him, a first book in 1993, a brand of his own created with Charles Znaty in 1998 whose first shop opened in Tokyo rather than Paris, boutiques across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, a Legion d honneur in 2007, more than forty books, and the title of World Best Pastry Chef in 2016. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Pierre Herme?
Four generations behind him. Twenty two years before his own door.
He is the fourth generation of an Alsatian bakery and pastry family, which means the trade was not a choice so much as an inheritance. At fourteen he arrived in Paris to start his first apprenticeship with Gaston Lenotre, who was the most demanding pastry chef in the country. Most people at fourteen are at school.
What followed is the part that gets skipped in the telling. He spent more than two decades working, learning and rising in other people kitchens. He became the youngest person ever named France Pastry Chef of the Year. He wrote his first book in 1993 and co-wrote the Larousse Gastronomique in 1996. He is the only pastry chef ever decorated as a Chevalier of Arts and Letters.
In 1998, at thirty six, he created Maison Pierre Herme Paris with his associate Charles Znaty. And then he did something odd: the first Pierre Herme Paris boutique opened in Tokyo, not Paris. The Paris shop followed in 2001, at 72 Rue Bonaparte in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Success was immediate in both cities.
After that it becomes a list, which is what success looks like from outside. A second Paris boutique in late 2004 with an innovative interior. In early 2005, a luxury convenience store and a chocolate bar in Omotesando in Tokyo, among the imported fashion houses. In 2008 a macaron and chocolate shop on Rue Cambon. In 2010 the Maison on Rue Fortuny with the Atelier de Creation. His desserts on All Nippon Airways from 2012. A Cafe Dior in Seoul from 2015, and a partnership with La Mamounia in Marrakesh from 2017.
The critics have never known quite what to call him, which is usually a good sign. Vogue called him the Picasso of Pastry. Food and Wine called him a pastry provocateur. Paris Match called him an avant-garde pastry chef and a magician with tastes. The New York Times called him the Kitchen Emperor. Vanity Fair ranked him the fourth most influential French person in the world. He was made a Chevalier de la Legion d honneur in May 2007, was named World Best Pastry Chef in 2016 by The World 50 Best Restaurants, has written or co-written over forty books, and in October 2023 launched an online class teaching his own pastries.
The moments
Pierre Herme's timeline.
The 1960s
Four generations of bakers
Everyday. The fourth generation of the same trade.
The 1970s
Paris at fourteen
Milestone, and it changed everything. Fourteen, on a train, to work.
The 1980s
Youngest pastry chef of the year
Milestone, and it changed everything. Nobody had taken it younger.
The 1990s
His first book
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He started writing it down at thirty one.
The Larousse Gastronomique
Milestone, and it changed his direction. They put him on the standard reference of French cooking.
Stay an employee, or open a shop
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: put his name over the door, taken, or stay in the great houses. Shops followed in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and in 2016 he was named the best pastry chef in the world.
His own name, at thirty six
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty two years after the apprenticeship began.
The first shop is in Tokyo
Milestone, and it changed everything. A French pastry brand that opened in Japan first.
The 2000s
A second Paris boutique
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Two cities, four shops, seven years in.
Legion d honneur
Milestone, and it changed everything. The only pastry chef ever given the arts decoration.
Macarons on Rue Cambon
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A shop for two products, and a studio behind it.
The 2010s
Desserts at altitude
Milestone. His pastry, served at thirty thousand feet.
Cafe Dior in Seoul
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Seoul, and then Marrakesh.
World best pastry chef
Milestone, and it changed everything. Best in the world, at fifty four.
The 2020s
He teaches it online
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Forty books, and then a camera.
The shops are in Europe, Asia and the Middle East now, and a fifth generation of the trade can read forty of his books. What he set moving began with a fourteen year old getting on a train to Paris to be somebody else apprentice, which is a very old way to learn a craft and still the best one.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His has twenty two years of working under other people in the middle of it, which is the part nobody puts in the profile. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Pierre Herme: frequently asked questions
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Where does this timeline of Pierre Herme's life come from?
More character arcs
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Sources
- Pierre Herme, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The World 50 Best Restaurants award of World Best Pastry Chef, 2016.
- His forty and more books, beginning with Secrets Gourmands in 1993.
- The Vogue, Food and Wine, Paris Match and New York Times descriptions, quoted there.