The Art of Sweetness: Executive Chef Philippe Ancelet of Comptoirs de France

Previously the executive pastry chef at Hyatt and with Intercontinental Group, French native Philippe Ancelet has teamed up with business partner Benjamin Devos to manage and create recipes for Comptoirs de France bakery. Sporting a Harley-Davidson jacket and an ear-to-ear grin, the unpretentious pastry chef sat down with Agenda to discuss his passion for creating pastries tailored to sweet tooths both European and Chinese.

What is the concept behind Comptoirs de France and what accounts for its (award-winning) success?
We don’t want Comptoirs de France to be just a bakery. Rather, it is a nice place to meet people and enjoy a pastry or a cup of coffee. Our customers come for the warm atmosphere and ambience, both of which are missing from bread for the Chinese community. Before Comptoirs de France, I was the pastry chef for Kempinski. What I saw was that overall, Chinese people did not have much of a sweet tooth. But there were people who had been living in America and other countries who had experienced high quality cafe items. When they come back to China, they want to relive the desserts of the same standard, so we at Comptoirs de France aim to bring the highest quality desserts to them.

Tell us about the history of Comptoirs de France. How does the Beijing business extend its French traditions?
In 1855, my co-partner, Benjamin Devos’ family watermill first produced the unique flour that helped bring quality baked bread to the people of France. With that, their family also developed new recipes to produce the best baked goods, and their recipes have been passed along with each generation. Benjamin carried his family legacy to Beijing, and we set up our coffee houses and a factory for making bread for the Chinese community. Before Comptoirs de France, I was the pastry chef for Kempinski. What I saw was that overall, Chinese people did not have much of a sweet tooth. But there were people who had been living in America and other countries who had experienced high quality cafe items. When they come back to China, they want to relive the desserts of the same standard, so we at Comptoirs de France aim to bring the highest quality desserts to them.

How did you get into baking?
My grandmother was an assistant chef for a maison bourgeoise. When I was a boy, every Sunday all the families would meet at my grandmother’s house, and she would start preparing all the food and the pastries for our gatherings starting from Saturday. I was very interested, so I started helping out in the kitchen and got a taste of what it was like to be a chef. But as a chef you have to do a lot of cooking with potatoes and vegetables, and I did not like that. I oriented myself more to the sweets and pastries as I enjoy eating those more.

What’s your own personal favorite dessert?
My favorite dessert is my mother’s apple tart. The only apple tart in Beijing comparable is the one I make – right from her own recipe. From our menu at Comptoirs de France, I like the nice raspberry macaroon with fresh raspberries inside. I’m not a huge chocolate fan; I prefer sweet things with fruits like strawberries, raspberries and light whipped cream inside. The truth is that I don’t really eat dessert anymore. I taste them, but after 40 years of making sweets, I try not to eat too much of my own creations. I don’t want to become bigger!

What is your take on the Chinese dessert culture?
The problem is that Chinese don’t have a background in sweets. You can go to different styles of Chinese restaurants with great food, but there are no sweets. The most desserts that they offer are egg tarts, red bean paste dumplings and fresh fruit. Their dessert menus are very limited, and only now do we see Chinese people begin to explore and develop their sweet tooth. When you talk to Chinese people, they say “I don’t like sweet.” But they do eat sweets – they serve sweet and sour pork and they eat sweet bread. Slowly, we are beginning to see people creating sweets and desserts with Chinese flavors. As a pastry chef in China, I try to adapt to the Chinese taste buds, using Green tea, jasmine or oolong flavors that would not be popular in other countries. I can create fusion with my French desserts by incorporating Chinese products – it can be a green tea tiramisu or an oolong mousse. Of course, we have to maintain the essence of French traditional pastries, but we must adjust to the people and deliver what they want to eat. My goal is to get Chinese people to enjoy eating desserts.

What is the inspiration behind the Sichuan Pepper macaroon on Comptoirs’ menu?
I like the taste of the Sichuan pepper and I thought it complemented the chocolate macaroon. I worked in Korea 25 years ago, and back then we were already using the green pepper and orange spices on many dessert items. This is sweet on spicy, and I think the combination appeals to the Chinese. It was a very original recipe, and I liked it because if the Chinese protest that they don’t eat sweets, I could respond by saying “Yes, but it’s spicy also.”

How does working and co-owning Comptoirs de France compare to working in a five-star hotel?
I worked in hotels in Saudi Arabia for a while for rich families who demanded the highest quality cakes, regardless of the price. Money was not an issue for them, and I had the luxury of using the finest ingredients to the best of my ability to meet their needs. But now, things have changed – people want the cheapest deals. They want the ultimate luxury hotel experience, but expect to pay the costs equivalent to those of local hotels. There’s no fun anymore. At the shop, it’s fun. The good thing about being the boss is that I can create what I want. In hotels, there are many limitations that come with a tight budget, with issues of having a small staff and not being able to buy ingredients that would exceed the budget. Thirty years ago, they simply wanted the best pastries. But now, they are only concerned with the bottom line.

What other Beijing restaurants do you frequent to satisfy your sweet tooth?
Sometimes, I eat at restaurants where my friends are the chefs. We are very busy, so if I want to say hello to them, I eat at their restaurant. I like to go to Mosto and Maison Boulud because I’m friends with the owners. In particular, Mosto has a really great goat cheese tiramisu that I enjoy. Maison Boulud also has many creative and satisfying macaroons that I order for dessert.

How do you wind down during the weekends?
Most of the time, I’m in the Beijing countryside, riding my Harley motorbike with my friends for an entire day. We go to scenic places like Badaling and Miyun. I don’t know all the names, but I do know all the amazing water reservoirs and the mountains on the outskirts of Beijing.

What does the future hold for Comptoirs de France?
One of our goals is to set up a shop in Shanghai. Also, we want to come up with a more modern interior design for our coffee house in Shanghai, while keeping the same atmosphere. It’ll be our new baby. We are considering a glass design allowing people to see our bakers make the bread in the shop.