Sweet Indulgence

Indulge 100 Perfect Desserts

Claire Clark

Dessert

The French Laundry

Following her recent trip to London, George R Vaughan caught up with French Laundry patisserie chef Claire Clark to discuss life, food and the release of her new book, Indulge.

Whenever I go out for a meal it’s the dessert menu that excites me so I couldn’t hide my delight when offered the opportunity to interview Claire Clark, who was in London to promote her new book Indulge.

Sumptuously put together, the book covers 100 of Claire’s favourite recipes and is brought to life with wonderful pictures by photographer Jean Cazal that left my mouth watering in anticipation.

Regarded by many as one of the top pastry chefs in the world, Claire studied under renowned Swiss patissier, Ernest Bachman and John Huber and has enjoyed a glittering career that has seen her working in some of London’s most prestigious restaurants, including Claridges Hotel in Mayfair and The Wolseley in Piccadilly. Three years ago she went to work with Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in California , regarded by many as the best restaurant in the world.

This British born culinary artiste was, however, remarkably “down to earth” and charming when we met. he shook my hand and we took our place at a corner table for the interview.

Did she, like I, have a sweet tooth I asked.

“I love desserts. Cakes, biscuits, chocolate. As a child I was brought up entirely on home cooked food and naturally this included sweets. We never had anything bought from a shop and my mother – being such a wonderful cook – made everything “in-house”. “In fact, I was much more interested in eating than cooking and my biggest passion at the time was music but my mother advised me that I would never make it as a musician so I decided to become a chef. I suppose you could say that I owe my pathway into cooking to my mother.”
“So was it this love of all things sweet that persuaded her to become a patisserie chef?”

“Not exactly. I was a very slight figure when I was at college – no more than six stone– and I fainted on my first day at the stoves so I moved to the pastry section because it was much cooler. And I’ve stayed there ever since.”
How did Claire’s obvious love of family fit in with her decision to take the position at The French Laundry, thousands of miles away?

“It was difficult from an emotional perspective but as far as my career went, being part of this operation is quite possibly the pinnacle of where I could hope to be in my life at the moment. In the restaurant business they really don’t come much better than The French Laundry and I say this as someone who has been fortunate to work in some really fabulous places. “When Thomas Keller offered me the post I knew it was something I had to do but I also realised it would not be forever either. I miss my family and my roots too much to be away from England for good. I know that at some point I will return home. “That isn’t to suggest for a moment that I am not enjoying myself because I absolutely love what I am doing. It’s a demanding job, there’s no question about it, but I have trained all my life to get where I am today and I’ve had to suffer some painful losses in pursuit of my passion.”
One significant casualty was her marriage, which was unable to survive the toll of such a demanding career.

“I am a romantic at heart. I always have been. Romance and creativity go hand in hand I think. When I was younger I married my childhood sweetheart and in the early days, I felt like we could tackle anything. “But as my work became more demanding - with prompt starts at 8am and most finishes usually no earlier than 1am the following morning - the cracks started to show. As the shifts got harder I sought my rest on the weekends – which was supposed to be our time – and all I ended up doing was sleeping. “In the end it was just too much for us both to bear and we separated. All these years later, we still remain very good friends and since there were no children involved, the despair was only shared between the two of us but it still remains the biggest regret of my life.”
So is a woman asked to make different sacrifices to a man in the same profession?

“Only if you decide to have children. I think then the dynamic changes completely because you are facing an issue that only a woman has to deal with. Sure a man can be there to support you but ultimately you are the one who is carrying that child and you are the one who has to experience all the unique complexities that go with that. “As far as relationships go, I am much more on top of my game now. The woman I was back when I was married has learnt a lot from the experience and I think I would approach things differently for the future.”
So what about the future? Where does Claire Clark see herself going?

“In the short term I am happy at The French Laundry. Working with Thomas Keller is a unique and satisfying experience. However, I do miss my home and I know I will come back to England eventually. Then I would like to start up my own business. I suppose you get to a point in your life when you don’t want to be working for anyone else and feel like you can pass some of your knowledge on to others by becoming employer rather than employee.”
And what about her first book, will there be more?

“Let’s see how this one goes first. It’s been out for about three months now and the reaction from press and public has been encouraging.”
Was it hard to get together 100 of favourite recipes? It seems like an awful lot to someone like me.

“Quite the opposite. When I was thinking about which recipes to put in the book I set about making a list of my favourite desserts and found that I had too many. I trimmed it and then trimmed it again before I finally got down to the 100 included in the publication.”
“So there are enough to produce a follow-up?”

“Probably enough for two more if I’m honest!”
Claire Clark is one of the rare exceptions, neither ranting celebrity chef nor frilly apron old school cook. She is charming, honest and very much at peace with herself, not a bad place to be.

My mother always says that cooking is an art form. If your head isn’t in the right place the work you create isn’t going to be in the right place either. From where I was sitting over breakfast with Claire, she couldn’t be in a more satisfying spot.

For more information on Claire Clark and The French Laundry, check out www.frenchlaundry.com.

Indulge – which recently won the 2007 World Gourmand Awards for Best Dessert Book (National Award) – is on sale at all good book stores and Amazon.com

George R Vaughan

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