Top pastry chef Maxime Frederic on his approach to crafting chocolates for Louis Vuitton

The art of crafting chocolate confectionery can be akin to a sommelier conjuring wine-and-food pairings, opines famed French pastry chef Maxime Frederic, who is the chef-patissier of the Cheval Blanc Paris and also helms Le Chocolat Maxime Frederic by Louis Vuitton.

The chocolate shop, which debuted its first outpost outside France in the maison’s Marina Bay Sands store in February, offers chocolates and sweets fashioned after its iconic emblems and motifs.

In an exclusive interview with The Peak, Frederic shares that flavour intensity and the emotions triggered by eating are what he looks for in chocolate. He says: “We use different varieties and origins to combine tastes. The idea is to find the right chocolate to pair with either hazelnut or a certain type of vanilla or — to take it in a fruity direction — perhaps pear or raspberry.”

For coated hazelnuts, cacao from Madagascar is used as it has acidulous notes of red berries, while Peruvian cacao matches with pistachios as it is earthier, richer, and has biscuity undertones. 

Le Chocolat Maxime Frederic in Singapore offers around 16 products, including Damier-shaped chocolate tablets, monogram flower-shaped chocolate, and chocolate bars. Inspired by his childhood breakfasts, Frederic has also concocted a chocolate hazelnut spread, with its richness accentuated by delicately sweet blue vanilla from Reunion Island. 

Frederic, who was anointed Best Pastry Chef by French culinary guide Gault & Millau in 2022, has been involved in Louis Vuitton’s expansion into dining over the last two years, which includes the opening of a Louis Vuitton restaurant in Bangkok helmed by maverick Indian chef Gaggan Anand in March. 

Edible chocolate art 

Igniting quite a stir among chocoholics are the stunning chocolate centrepieces. The Vivienne on Malle features the flower-shaped Louis Vuitton mascot, embossed in LV monogram, on top of a signature. If one isn’t too tempted to devour the chocolate, there’s a side key to wind the music box-like base (gears included).

The trunk's all-chocolate mechanism, which also houses a hidden chocolate bar, was the biggest challenge to construct, says Frederic. “We had to take care not to adulterate the Trunk or the Maison’s codes. And yet it was a fun challenge because it involved two great symbols.”

The other sculpture, Petpula, is fashioned from a lion mascot. It is a pinata in disguise, filled with coated hazelnuts specially sourced from Normandy for its intensely nutty flavour. Both chocolate sculptures are made from milk chocolate from Peru and Madagascar and dark chocolate from Vietnam and the Dominican Republic for their intense flavour. 

Frederic’s fierce emphasis on provenance — the chocolates are also sourced from independent cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, Peru, and Vietnam — can be traced back to the Normandy native’s farming roots. Growing up on his grandfather’s dairy farm, his fondest memory revolves around his family’s five-generation apple cider-making practice.

“It is an incredible tradition — the whole family gathers apples for two days, and then we press them to make juice. We would gather to bottle the cider three months later over the weekend.” 

Therein lies his “down-to-earth authenticity” approach to crafting chocolate and pastries for Louis Vuitton. He muses: “To me, the most important thing is taste. And, of course, they need to tell the Maison’s story. Trying to be ‘trendy’ is not my cup of tea. What is trendy today will be outdated tomorrow, even in pastries. What I strive for is timelessness.”