My style icon is the New York-based artist Daniel Arsham. I love his art, film and architecture work – and his subject matter, which is often in a state of decay. And then his personal style – the way he wears workwear clothing, and even his sneakers… it all just works. Apart from uber-realistic fruit, there’s also Vanilla Bean, which looks just like the actual pod, albeit many times bigger. This is filled with Tahitian vanilla and custard cream, as well as vanilla ganache in a white chocolate shell. While we’re on the fruits, one of our favourites was Mango Ginger Flower, an unassuming, cream-topped pastry with an ombre orb nestled amidst the ginger ganache petals. Grolet’s petite scone trompe l’oeil ‘is similar in shape and vibe, but not taste, to a Mr Kipling fondant fancy’.

Step inside Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley – and into the mind of a true visionary. After joining Le Meurice as sous chef in 2012, Cédric Grolet rapidly rose through the ranks and introduced the world to his sweetly styled Fruits and Flowers, through his own boutiques and bestselling books. Today, the renowned pastry chef’s first pâtisserie outside of Paris, overlooking Hyde Park, is a true feast for the senses. Here is the best French croissant recipe by the French master pâtissier Cédric Grolet. In his French patisserie cookbook Opéra, Cédric Grolet, who was named the world’s best pastry chef in 2018, shares his accessible recipe for the French croissant. It’s the perfect croissant recipe for amateur home chefs or more experienced pâtissiers. For more recipes by French pastry chefs, see my article on the best French pastry books of all time. The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe was a pair of Travis Scott x Nike sneakers. I’m a big fan of sneakers generally, but these are a collector’s item, and they haven’t come out of the box yet. I like their cream-white colour with touches of brown and red, and I think it’s the rarity factor that makes them so cool. A unanimous winner was Paris Brest Flower, which was in essence hazelnut on steroids. Yet, like all of Chef Cédric Grolet’s creations, it was still light and not cloying. An indulgence I would never forgo is frothy cappuccinos. The mix of espresso and steamed milk with a sprinkling of chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures.

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At the pastry shop, you’ll find a slew of pastries, cakes, and sandwiches inspired by fruits and flowers, alongside a Singapore-exclusive tea menu, with both dine-in and takeaway options available.

Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape and, like other French viennoiseries, are made of layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a thin sheet in a technique called laminating ( “tourage” in French). The process results in a puff pastry. Here are a few tips below to make proper French croissants. 1. Opt for quality ingredients This starts with a base of hazelnut shortbread, then hazelnut praline, and choux pastry filled with hazelnut gianduja, AKA hazelnut paste blended with chocolate, and my ultimate favourite part of this treat. It’s finished with pipings of hazelnut cream—what did we say, it’s a hazelnut party in a bite. This stunned us with its balanced mango flavour that was not overwhelmingly sweet or potent; rather, it was tempered with the floral, piquant notes of ginger flower—all set atop a crisp shortbread base. Op é ra Pâtisserie marks the entrance of the most talented pastry chef of his generation, Cédric Grolet, into the world of boulangerie-pâtisserie. This book coincides with the opening of his new shop in the Opéra district in the heart of Paris. These buttery, flaky layered pastries are a French classic, and there’s no better way to enjoy them than dipped in a hot coffee. Otherwise, try it in hot chocolate the Parisian way, or so it’s said.The best book I’ve read in the past year is Les Lapins Ne Mangent Pas De Carottes (Rabbits Don’t Eat Carrots) by journalist Hugo Clément, which looks at climate change and biodiversity. I also published my own book this year, Flowers. It took me more than a year to complete, so it’s been incredible to see it come to fruition. As always, choosing quality ingredients is the key to making delicious croissants at home. And in this recipe, it’s the butter, the key ingredient, that makes French croissants taste so good. So make sure to choose a good quality French unsalted butter. 2. The beurre de tourage or “dry butter” The tropical delights continue with Dragonfruit, another familiar sight that’s been recreated as a confection of both pitaya and passionfruit. Beurre de tourage, also known as dry butter or “beurre pâtissier,” is a dry, unsalted butter with 84% butterfat, higher than regular unsalted butter with 82% butterfat. It’s a special butter, presented in thin sheets and used in France by pastry chefs when making a dough that requires turning or folding it with butter to create layers. 3. How to make beurre de tourage

Cédric Grolet fans will no longer need to hop onto a plane to Paris or London for a taste of his creations, as the famous French pastry chef has set up shop right here in Singapore. This will be Cédric Grolet’s fourth opening, and the first outside of Europe. The last thing I bought and loved was a special birthday dinner for friends in Bali. We ate delicious burgers on the beach with our feet in the sand. After the international success of Fruits and Opéra, Cédric Grolet launches a new recipe book for fine pâtisserie: Fleurs. In it, he wanted to pay tribute to his mother, “who told me that with a simple flower you can conquer the world. For me, there is nothing more elegant than the piping of a flower. Piping a cream, a ganache, or a meringue brings an aesthetic and gustatory balance to a dessert ”, explains the popular chef. By forming curves, scrolls, and petals, I try to draw a different flower each time to transform a simple cake into a gift. Flowers are an endless playground for a pastry chef. They are symbols of life, elegance, and purity, they allow you to play with colors, shapes, and ingredients. They are extremely inspiring, and I wanted to make them edible!” he adds. Recipes are organized into chapters that follow the rhythm of the day. At 7 a.m., it’s time for viennoiseries and breads; at 11 a.m., it’s pastries; at 3 p.m., desserts and frozen fruits; and at 5 p.m., it’s time for the final batch of bread.

For an up-close-and-personal look at the innovation behind the art, take a front row seat at the Chef's Counter for a tasting menu of six sweet and two savoury courses. Or experience Goûtea, Cédric Grolet's twist on afternoon tea, here and at The Berkeley Café. I have a collection of pastry books and books about sports cars. I have a lot by noted French chefs and friends such as Pierre Hermé, Christophe Adam and Alain Ducasse, and also books about Formula 1 and, specifically, Lamborghinis, which I am obsessed with. Books about watches are another interest. All of these interests are linked by the requirement for extreme precision in their execution.