Olivier Bajard
One should always be careful when using superlatives but in the case of Olivier Bajard the facts speak for themselves: ‘Best craftsman of France’ at the age of 27, and ‘Dessert world champion’ at the age of 29. Furthermore, he is a successful dessert book author, a trainer, an organiser of national and international professional competitions, and finally the founder of the famous Ecole Internationale de Pâtisserie in Perpignan, which is a true Mecca for specialists and passionate hobby confectioners!
Olivier Bajard’s nearby production facilities for the finest patisseries, chocolate and ice creams, currently covers an area of 750m2, and he recently opened the third BAJARD shop in France. ‘Passion et l’amour du travail bien fait’, as Olivier Bajard describes it, are the mainstays of his truly amazing career. He impressively demonstrates that a profession is not just a matter of chance but coincides with a vocation. At the age of four, his passion for the confectioner’s profession had already been awakened. ‘To watch the daily production in my parents’ business was already at that age a revelation to me, and the fascination for this craft has remained to this day!’ says Olivier Bajard. At the age of 15 he set out to do an apprenticeship with famous French masters. In return, the dessert world-champion title enabled him to engage in teaching activities, and at the same time it opened the doors for constant progress. ‘La pâtisserie-chocolaterie-glacerie s’exprime comme un art raffiné... Le respect des hommes et de la tradition me permet de franchir les frontières du quotidien et d’exalter ma sensibilité’, Olivier Bajard puts his success into words.