The 13e Best Pastry Chef season ended this Thursday, January 9 on M6 with the broadcast of the grand finale. Morbihannais José was one of the three candidates in the running.
Despite the defeat – the show was won by the young Timothée – José returned to his adventure at the microphone of Alouette.
What are your feelings the day after this final?
I think I’m more in a feeling of relief. Because everything happened during 14 weeks of broadcast. Everyone recognizes me in the street !
Lots of selfies, lots of autographs, lots of comments, discussions… my life has changed for 14 weeks but, yeah, that’s why I think I’m relieved it’s over (laughs).
Was the competition tough in this final?
No, the competition wasn’t tough. But they both deserved their places. Of course, I am very happy for Timothée, even if my preference was somewhere a little bit more for Tsiory. Timothée won, do him a lot of good, that’s very good, he’s a young man of 16 ans who has merit. Because when I was 16, I didn’t even dream of pastries.
The competition was not tough. She was there, I had to deal with it, I did with it. The best one wins, it’s the gamethat’s how it is.
What did this competition mean to you?
The competition represented for me a challenge. Also a way for me to surpass myself yet another area that I hadn’t really experienced. There you go, I know I know how to bake. It’s pretty good (laughs).
But I didn’t go there to open a pastry shop or to become a content creator for social networks. No, absolutely not. I went there to have fun and to challenge myself.
-How would you summarize your journey?
A bit of a journey strewn with pitfalls. Because, of course, several times I wanted to give upI wanted to give up. But it’s not really in my character to give up. So I held on, I pulled myself together and I climbed the ladder little by little to get to where I am. I am very proud of myself.
A few small health issues too?
Yes, unfortunately. As my medical history requires me to do so [José a eu 4 cancers, Ndlr], I sometimes have worries that come to the surface. Like abdominal pain, minor discomforts. Unfortunately, it happened during the show. I didn’t expect it to come to this, but it did and I dealt with it. I did what I could. After some recovery time, I was able to get going again and the adventure continued.
Despite these difficulties and all these cakes made during the competition, do you still want to bake?
Yes, of course I still want to bake! I don’t bake every day, of course, because I do lots of other things. But, just yesterday, I made a galette des rois.
A few days ago, I was doing a masterclass with friends from Ploërmel to make king cakes again. So I had twelve people in front of me who were baking and I was baking with them. Of course I continue to bake and I will continue to bake all the time improving my techniquesby improving my cakes, by improving my tastes and above all by making people around me happy.
What will you ultimately remember from this whole adventure?
I remember that I made a bunch of friends. I had some very good times. I had a lot of funwhich was my primary goal. I have very good memories of it. Including my exchanges with Cyril Lignac and Mercotte, my exchanges with Laëtitia Milot of course and with the shadow staff who we don’t see on screen but who are also there for us and that’s a lot of GOOD.
Interview conducted and transcribed by Mikaël le Gac
