Pastry chef Benoît Castel was named World Confectioner of the Year in Singapore by the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners. Here he is in his Paris bakery.
The smell of warm bread hangs in the air at one of Benoit Castel's patisseries in Paris, where the newly crowned world's best pastry chef was hard at work testing new recipes.
His fingers covered in cookie dough, the 54-year-old with salt-and-pepper hair had returned to his usual routine as an "artisan-retailer" after the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC) named him World Confectioner of the Year last month.
"I have a mission: to be the world champion every day in my shop for my customers," he said, eyes twinkling.
At the helm of several establishments in Paris, Castel has never strayed from his motto: "It's all about the product."
