For two days, the world's best pastry chefs gather at Sirha in Lyon for the Coupe du Monde de Pâtisserie. Belgium presents a team coached by Jean-Philippe Darcis. With his departure for Lyon, the chocolatier from Verviers confided in us his desire to help young Belgians take part in this kind of competition. Interview.
30 years after Pierre Marcolini's victory at the Coupe du Monde de Pâtisserie, it's another well-known Walloon chocolatier who will be taking part in the Coupe du Monde de Pâtisserie. Jean-Philippe Darcis will coach the Belgian team in the final, which takes place at Sirha in Lyon.
A child of the Herve region, Jean-Philippe Darcis opened his first chocolate tasting salon in 1996 at the age of 25. He has also taken part in numerous competitions. “I took part in a lot of competitions when I was young. In particular, I took part in the famous Coupe du Monde de Pâtisserie in Lyon. I also took part in the world championships in Las Vegas”, comments Jean-Philippe Darcis, whom we met in his chocolate shop in Verviers before his departure for Lyon.
A long list of achievements
One look at his track record and Jean-Philippe Darcis commands respect in the chocolate and pastry world. In 2001, he won the Prix Prosper Montagné, the Prix International du Chocolat Belge and the title of Ambassador of Belgian Chocolate. In 2002, he won the team bronze medal at the World Pastry Championship in Las Vegas, and the gold medal in the chocolate category. In 2003, Jean-Philippe Darcis won a silver medal at the World Ice Cream Championships. In 2015, he won two gold medals and four bronze medals at the International Chocolate Awards. In 2016, he distinguished himself again in the same competition with a gold, a silver and a bronze medal.
“A competition is a lot of work. It's a lot of sacrifice, but at the same time, it allows you to excel. Competitions build character through hard work, rigor, perseverance and creativity. I think competitions are important for young people. Today, I want to come full circle. I want to help young people who want to take part. If I took part in the Coupe du Monde de Pâtisserie in Lyon in 2005, it's because I saw Pierre Marcolini win in 1995. I had stars in my eyes. Marcolini's victory made me dream,” says Jean-Philippe Darcis.
The Verviers chocolatier also remembers the contacts and network he built up by taking part in competitions, as well as the media coverage and the spotlight.
“Without competitions, I wouldn't have had the success I have today. Competitions have enabled me to make a name for myself. I started from nothing, and it's only through perseverance that I've been able to get there. Competitions are part of my life. That's why today, I'm ready to give my time and energy back to young people. »
Darcis, the coach
Jean-Philippe Darcis coaches Marijn Coertjens (chocolate specialist), Raoul Andriessen (sugar specialist) and Dieter Charels (ice cream specialist). “As I always say, it's their competition, not mine. I'm here to help them, to advise them based on my experience, my feelings and current trends. Despite my 53 years, I still have a very dynamic vision of the business. My role is to advise them on visuals, taste and also on work organization. There can't be any mess in the work cubicle. During training sessions, I'm there to observe anything that goes wrong. After training, I debrief on what I've noticed,” explains Jean-Philippe Darcis.
“After that, it's up to them. So if they don't want to listen to me and go their own way, I won't be offended,” he smiles.
During the competition, Jean-Philippe Darcis' role will be to advise on important decisions. “It's also my role to calm things down if I see that someone is too stressed or lost. I can give as much advice as I like. But I can't touch anything during the competition,” he adds.
A non-profit organization to support Belgian talent
More than just a coach, Jean-Philippe Darcis is behind the participation of a Belgian team in Lyon. “With two friends, Raphaël Giot and Patrick Aubrion, we had the idea of creating an ASBL to enable young people to take part in these competitions. Belgium hadn't been present for a few years. We wanted to create a structure that would enable young people to take part. In addition, we want to organize intermediate competitions for schools. The aim is to create a competition pathway to enable young Belgians to take part in competitions such as the World Pastry Cup. To do this, you need time, sponsors... To take part in the biggest competitions, that's quite a budget. Before the World Cup, you have to take part in the European Cup. And before that, there's the national selection... The competition covers three disciplines: ice cream, sugar and chocolate. In each discipline, we have to organize a selection,” explains Jean-Philippe Darcis.
The Verviers chocolatier agrees. Taking part in a World Pastry Cup means two years of sacrifice. “It's crazy work. For two years, the guys have to think and sleep around their creations to come up with innovative ideas, special techniques, the perfect taste, and so on. When a guy signs up for this kind of competition, he's signing up for two years. That's a lot of sacrifice. And it's not always easy, because most of us are self-employed”, says our interviewee.
The success of Belgian chocolate
If Jean-Philippe Darcis has specialized in chocolate, it's because, according to him, it's found in almost every other pastry shop in Belgium. “It's really a question of history and heritage. At the time of the Industrial Revolution, Belgium had good chocolate makers who managed to set up fine production lines thanks to the new machines. That's what made Neuhaus, Godiva, etc. so successful. Very early on, Belgium was able to set up machines to refine chocolate and make it very pleasant to distribute. Then, we quickly succeeded in exporting chocolate and making it a source of national pride. You can't have one without the other. The machines made it possible to produce volume, which in turn made it possible to export and make a name for ourselves abroad”, says the chocolatier.
“Alongside this, it's true that we have quite incredible craftsmanship. There are a lot of passionate people who learned in small workshops. What's more, the climate suits chocolate well and encourages Belgians to eat chocolate. It's reassuring. In Belgium, we consume 8 to 9 kilos of chocolate per inhabitant per year. By way of comparison, in China, they consume 110 grams of chocolate per inhabitant per year,” concludes Jean-Philippe Darcis.
