ABOUT
BY NICHOLAS
Sucré Sens was founded by Nicolas Champaud, Maître Pâtissier Chocolatier who offers preparation for pastry chef competitions for adults in professional retraining and apprentices as well as Consultant for hotel and restaurant professionals. Also, Nicolas offers you downloadable online pastry recipe books to reproduce at home.
At every moment, I think of my grandmother Marcelle who for me was an essential link and trigger for my professional life. Without knowing it and with benevolence, she triggered a passion in me and what I was made of. Today I have made it my job since the age of 16, I inherited her copper scale which was used to weigh all her ingredients and I inherited my great-grandmother's recipe book. given to me by my mother. They were women on the maternal side and a line of women who, to give happiness and love to others, baked cakes for their loved ones. This is to tell you how much I made sure that
each recipe is feasible in your kitchen in order to honor them, because it is a duty to pass on to others what they passed on to me, for their memory and their kindness through these recipes. I am speaking here to the greatest number, to those who have the desire to offer their manufacture to their family, friends, to the one with whom you share your life, to a good friend or a great friend, or a loved one who needs comfort. Because making a cake for yourself is good, but making it for others is even better, offering yourself sweetness and offering it to others is certainly a good intention, but above all it is giving what we have someone who accepts it and who wants it, it's a gift of love, it's given something simple. All these recipes for desserts and delicacies are the fruit of my childhood, and from my learning journey to today. Some recipes are very simple to make and others a little more technical. It takes all tastes :). So have fun, have fun and give your time,
they will thank you...
He runs, he runs, Nicolas... On May 17, 1970, a native of La Roche sur Yon in Vendée, Nicolas Champaud has already packed his bags many times. According to the professional assignments of his father, he grew up in Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Algeria. The travel virus picks him up later, when he is called up for military service: he then chooses the national navy. In order to integrate it, he needs to pass a waiter's diploma. Then parade Russia, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Italy..., a beautiful film that he likes to iron.
At 6 years old, the revelation
It would be a visit at the age of 6 to a bakery in Mulhouse organized by his school, which would have decided his professional destiny. All these pains au chocolat seemed wonderful to me. I then started very young to make family pastry, first of all for my parents, my brother and my sister, I made brioches, croissants and even bread but the oven caused me some problems. It was in Algeria that I started making my first meringues, chocolate cakes, madeleines, floating islands. My mother's mission was to bring me the ingredients needed to make all these desserts from shopping. usually the desserts for the guests. I was going to borrow the neighbour's electric whisk and I was paying my debt in meringues. Friends and girlfriends in the neighborhood always knew that there were enough quantities to eat them on the sly. The
gluttony had its place at home but also around. For me it was a hobby, a game, I didn't think I would make it my job. Subsequently, when I visited my grandmother, it was heart-shaped waffles, whipped cream savarin, donuts generally my mission was to weigh the ingredients with a copper scale and grandmother Marcelle took care of the grain, it was just sweet happiness. Later, I would have liked to go to the kitchen instead, but my older brother had already made that choice and I wanted to differentiate myself. This is why I opted for a pastry CAP and I thank him. There it all started...
From learning to installation
Even today, he warmly evokes his apprenticeship master, Charles Lhuillery living in Cherbourg. He taught me very good basics: everything was homemade, and nothing was wasted! He had a natural authority, I had a deep respect for him, he was my grandfather of transmission, he was approaching retirement when I was just 16 years old. Mrs. Lhuillery often praised Nicolas since we settled, we had never had an apprentice like him, serious, hardworking and kind she said to her mother. He passes his CAP brilliantly, he is first in his class and participates in the competition for the best apprentice of the sleeve he will be ranked 9th out of 375 students. In September 1988 he follows his parents for a business trip from his father and arrives in Annecy, Nicolas is looking for a job as a young clerk and wishes to progress in chocolate, he discovers the Fidel Berger, an institution in Annecy he stays there for a winter season . Subsequently to chain his knowledge of ice cream, he met Mr Vandi du cornet D'or still in Annecy, a renowned ice cream parlor where the best ice creams and sorbets are made and Nicolas works for a summer season. Nicolas specializes over time. It was in Lyon that he began his master's certificate with Mr Pignol Meilleur Ouvrier de France Glacier (MOF), he discovered the prestige of luxury cocktails, pastillage pieces, pulled sugar, banquets, but also the salon Sirha professional and the pastry world cup as a spectator. It goes from discovery to discovery. The following year he obtained two modules of the Master's degree. There, he began practical courses in pastry in Annonay (07) He was taught by Norbert Chenevier, best pastry worker in France (MOF), at the same time he worked at Mr Dinger, a member of the tradition gourmande association, an association which brings together master pastry chefs and the best workers in France from all over France. He also participated in his first 3-day training at Valrhona with Yannick Leffort as teacher. Nicolas at 24, but he does not want to stop there, he wants to do as many training courses as possible in order to perfect his knowledge but they have a cost and he must save to be able to afford them so two years later he paying for new training at Valrhona and meeting France's best chocolate worker Pascal Brunstein (MOF), it's pure happiness. At 28, he takes the plunge. It was in Montfavet, near Avignon, that he took up residence. He continues to learn
, he then began a cycle of 10 training courses at the National School of Pastry in Yssingeaux, which will go from 3 to 5 days I believe that a professional must train throughout his life a questioning is essential because our businesses are progressing very quickly, we must show humility because we are at the service of customers. In this prestigious school, he meets a large part of the best workers in France, he is invited three times to come and see the finals of the competition for the best workers in France pastry chef. He then also decides to participate in various competitions, and he obtains some good results: 1 bronze medal, 2 silver medals, and 2 gold medals in various national competitions. At the age of 30, he obtained the full master's degree as a free candidate, his pastry shop has 5 employees. It's a permanent race, create with colleagues a specialty ventoulet, go to schools to do animations...
A new bet in 2007: Training
Nicolas wishes to take up the challenge of training. “I feel ready to pass on my acquired experience in turn.” He joins the INBP
(the national bakery and pastry institute) Traveling through France, meeting professionals, he only reconnects
with the time of the travels that have already rocked a good part of his life. But he does not feel free enough, so he creates SUCRESENS, begins to offer independent training for hotels, restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops. In 2010 he decided to take the plunge and register for the competition for the best pastry chef in France. Unfortunately, he has no places to do his tests and
test his desserts that he creates. A few months before the qualifications for the competition, he had to leave Rouen and was recruited by a French pastry school intended for the training of Japanese in the Val d'Oise. There he is responsible for all pastry, chocolate, ice cream and bakery training, the laboratories are magnificent, the means are there. He prepares 5 months before the tests, but it is a difficult moment, he lacks time and have no coach to support him in this adventure. He will therefore stop at the Selections in the semi-finals. But he meets a lot of professionals from the great family of great pastry chefs, among others: Angelo Musa (MOF pastry chef and world champion), Philippe Conticini, Philippe Urraca (MOF Pastry chef), Arnaux Gautier, Bruno Pastoreli (MOF
pastry chef), Yann Brys (MOF Pastry Chef), and many others. It was in 2012 that he created and opened his workshop in Eragny sur Oise (95) under the brand he created “Sucrésens”. In September 2014 he joined the " Tradition Gourmande association and was recruited for a new challenge in Doha, working for a 5-star hotel. He remained for 6 years as Executive Sous-Chef Pâtissier at the 5-star hotel La Cigale in Doha, Qatar, where he was the right arm of Yann Grennarat who worked alongside the famous pastry chef Philippe Conticini for 10 years. For Nicolas, the admiration for this pastry chef is immense, the loop is complete. But the path does not stop there... Currently Nicolas Champaud is a pastry chef, chocolate maker and ice cream maker at the EFBPA Christian Vabret school.
MOF Baker. Nicolas Champaud wrote his first cookbook "Les cakes de ma vie" with Brigitte Eveno editions in 2017. He
is currently preparing her autobiography which will be released at the end of 2022, then we will follow other cookbooks on very specific themes.