For the world's newly crowned best pastry chef Benoît Castel, pastry is less a matter of following recipes than listening to ingredients. In one of his many patisserie kitchens in Paris, he works alongside his team, tasting, testing and experimenting while remaining driven to try new things – from sourdough bread to anti-waste loaves and elaborate Christmas creations.
The smell of warm bread hangs in the air at one of Benoît Castel's patisseries in Paris, where the newly crowned world's best pastry chef was hard at work testing new recipes.
