Herve Lemonon, Pastry Chef of Mandarin Oriental Macau, has been making desserts for 27 years.  He was first inspired by his grandfather, who is also a pastry chef, at the age of 12.  Herve became a big fan of his grandpa’s homemade desserts and decided to become a pastry chef when he took the apprenticeship in a cake shop in France at 14.

 

Herve has worked in many parts of the world including the PLM M’Bamou Palace Hotel in Congo, Africa, 3 Michelin Star Restaurant Marc Heberlin in New Orleans, Sofitel Hotel in Cannes, 3 Michelin Star Restaurant Michel Lorain at Le Meridien Picadilly in London and of course the Mandarin Oriental in Macau.

 

The turning point of Herve’s career came in 2006, when he was invited to become one of the judges for the World Chocolate Masters National Pre-Selection for China by Barry Callebaut, a world famous chocolate manufacturer.   He was the first time to be a judge of a formal competition and was a bit belittled by the fact that all other chefs on the judge panel were well known chefs who have won numerous awards from professional competitions.  Herve at the time realized that he cannot just make pastries in his kitchen but to enter competitions and gain a wider scope of experience.

 

Since then, Herve has been practicing his skills and prepared himself for competitions.  In 2007 he has won the Gold Medal of Professional Pastry Display Showpiece organized by Hong Kong International Culinary Classic at HOFEX in Hong Kong as well as a Gold Medal in WGA in Macao the same year.   After winning these competitions, he began to coach and encourage his team members enter into competitions and without fail; his team has won one Silver Medal from the Chocolate Showpiece Competition at WGA in 2007 and 2 Silver Medals in 2008.

 

Herve believes that one has to proof himself/herself first before gaining respect from others.  “I always believe the best way to coach my staff is to be part of the team.  Coaching takes a lot of dedication and determination, all this extra work pays off when you win a medal from the competition.  But the biggest happiness is not about winning, it is about participating and the experience that you gain during the process.  Never mind losing, putting the showpiece on the competition table means success already.  You have to be proud of your work, winning the game is merely a bonus.”

 

Herve has been a supportive customer of DKSH for a long time and regarded DKSH’s range of products are of the best quality.  “I’ve been using Cacao Barry for over 20 years and I can always count on DKSH, because I can be sure I’m being well taken care of.”  Herve became a DKSH Ambassador in 2008.

Club Gourmet @ DKSH also helps Herve on the coaching side too since the loyalty program earns him Gourmet Points to redeem professional tools and books to further train his team on improving their skills. 

 

Herve Lemonon is currently a voluntary member of the Macau Culinary Association with the aim to develop the culinary art and skills of the young chefs in Macau.  His mainly takes care of all the competitions with Christophe Duvernois, Executive Pastry Chef of Macau Tower and President of the Association.  He is also a part-time pastry teacher at IFT in Macao for 3 years.

 

 

 

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