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TED Talks Daily

A pastry chef works his chocolatier magic - live | Amaury Guichon

with Amaury Guichon

Published October 14, 2025
View Show Notes

About This Episode

Pastry chef and chocolatier Amaury Guichon speaks with Latif Nasser at TED 2025 about how he uses chocolate to create intricate edible sculptures that inspire wonder around the world. He explains his journey from struggling student in France to Vegas-based pastry artist, his focus on taste and texture as much as visual impact, and his mission to showcase the hidden labor behind pastry. During the talk he live-assembles his elaborate "coffee clock" dessert on stage, revealing both the artistic process and the multi-layered flavors inside.

Topics Covered

Pastry Desserts Art and creativity French cuisine Content creation Live events Personal narrative Travel and tourism

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Quick Takeaways

  • Amaury Guichon began in savory cooking at age 14 after struggling academically, eventually falling in love with pastry and the transformation of raw ingredients into elaborate creations.
  • He moved from France to Las Vegas to learn English and discovered that the city's extravagance matched his talent for crafting visually striking chocolate pieces.
  • Despite his fame for intricate chocolate sculptures, Amaury prioritizes flavor, texture, and overall eating experience over appearance alone.
  • He emphasizes how simple, often unpalatable raw ingredients are combined into balanced recipes that deliver pleasurable tastes.
  • Amaury created his social media channels to reveal the time, skill, and effort behind pastry work and to justify pricing that many people initially see as expensive.
  • He is proud to have helped transform pastry from a "lame" and secretive trade into an aspirational career path for younger generations.
  • During the talk he assembles his coffee-themed chocolate clock live on stage, demonstrating technical chocolate work and describing the layered dessert hidden inside.

Podcast Notes

Introduction to Amaury Guichon and the global fascination with his chocolate art

Setting up who Amaury is and why his work is widely recognized

Description of "the chocolate guy" on social media[1:59]
• Host notes that most people have seen the "chocolate guy" who makes elaborate, gorgeous, intricate, edible structures all out of chocolate on social media.
• His videos have amassed literally billions of views over the years.
Introduction of Amaury Guichon and the TED 2025 context[2:29]
• Amaury Guichon is introduced as considered by some as the world's most creative pastry chef.
• He joins Latif (Lateef) Nasser, co-host of Radiolab and a guest curator at TED 2025, for a talk and demonstration.
• The stated theme is the important role food plays in the creation of wonder.
Amaury's silent, visual style of communication[2:36]
• He is said to captivate the entire world with only one ingredient (chocolate) and without ever speaking a word in his videos.

Host's personal connection and Amaury's public image

Latif's family connection to Amaury's videos

Amaury as part of a child's bedtime routine[3:18]
• Latif shares that Amaury is part of his four-year-old's bedtime routine.
• They watch one of Amaury's videos every night.

Public recognition and mystery around Amaury

Accolades and reach[3:07]
• Laliste recognized Amaury as the world's most creative pastry chef.
• He has billions of views on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
• He also has a Netflix show, mentioned in passing.
Mystery about his background[3:18]
• Latif notes that although many people watch Amaury's content, they know almost nothing about him.
• Latif prompts Amaury to share where he is from and how he got into pastries.

Amaury's background and path into pastry

Origins in France and early training

Nationality and early start in culinary[3:34]
• Amaury explains that he is originally from France.
• He describes himself as French and Swiss.
• He started in the culinary field when he was 14 years old.
Academic struggles and move toward trades[3:48]
• He says he was not great academically speaking.
• Because of this, he was encouraged to go into trades.
Choosing culinary and drifting to pastry[3:42]
• He picked culinary "out of a hat," indicating it was not a highly calculated choice.
• After his savory training, he drifted toward the sweet side.
• He fell in love with the transformation of raw ingredients into elaborate products.

Move to Las Vegas and discovery of a fitting environment

Motivation to learn English

Desire for language skills[4:06]
• At age 21, Amaury wanted to learn how to speak English.
• He notes that, like most French people, he did not speak English very well.
• He planned to take one year to learn English.

Coming to Las Vegas

Selection of destination[4:13]
• He says he was not too picky about the destination for learning English.
• He got an opportunity to come to Las Vegas 12 years ago.
Preconceptions vs. reality of Vegas[4:22]
• Knowing that he does not party and does not drink, he did not think Vegas would be home for him.
• He discovered that the extravagance of Vegas was a perfect pairing with his ability to craft wonders.
• Latif comments on the "wow factor" alignment between Vegas and Amaury's work.

The dual wow factor of Amaury's chocolate sculptures

Two waves of audience reaction

First impression of the sculptures[4:42]
• Latif describes a first "wow" when people see the elaborate sculptures themselves.
Realization they are entirely chocolate[4:45]
• The second "wow" comes when people realize he made the entire thing out of chocolate.
• Latif emphasizes that the whole structure is chocolate.

Properties of chocolate as a material

Chocolate vs. other structural mediums[4:58]
• Amaury highlights the beauty of chocolate as a material.
• He contrasts chocolate with other mediums in the field that rely on wood, metal, and wires.
• He notes chocolate can do everything by itself and is 100% fully edible.
Edible pigments and finishes[5:08]
• People sometimes think he uses paint on his products.
• He clarifies that he uses edible pigment mixed with cocoa butter, the fat part of the cocoa bean.
• That mixture is what makes his showpieces so beautiful.

Amaury's mindset and priorities: taste over appearance

Seeing the world through chocolate

Latif's playful question about "chocolatifying" everything[5:19]
• Latif asks if Amaury walks around thinking about how to make everything out of chocolate.
• Amaury responds that it may not be surprising, but he does that.

Priority of taste and texture

Stated emphasis on flavor[5:28]
• Latif says Amaury surprised him by saying that, as important as look and design are, he actually cares more about taste.
• Amaury notes that everyone who understands chocolate can transform it into art.
Complexity of not compromising flavor for aesthetics[5:46]
• He explains that the complexity for a trained pastry chef is how not to compromise taste and texture while crafting beauty.
• He says this is where it becomes much more complex and where he truly "kicks in."
Transforming unappealing raw ingredients[5:58]
• He describes flour by itself as not very pleasing.
• A spoonful of sugar is too sweet, salt is too salty, and biting into a lemon is too sour.
• He says the recipe and having ingredients collide together create things that give a good taste, which is what he likes to do.

Showcasing the "coffee clock" dessert concept

Introduction of the coffee clock pastry

Pre-social-media focus on plated pastries[6:34]
• Amaury mentions that before all the chocolate showpieces took off, he focused heavily on pastries because social media is visually oriented and he emphasized visuals there.
Owning a school and creating pastries[6:40]
• He states that he owns a school.
• He travels the world and teaches pastry.
• Over the last decade, he has created multiple pastries.
Description of the coffee clock[6:49]
• One of his favorites is the coffee clock.
• It combines coffee and chocolate: a strong espresso paired with a strong 80% chocolate.
• The dessert looks like a clock, like a little piece of jewelry.
Visual elements of the dessert on screen[7:02]
• Amaury notes that what the audience sees on the screen are some of the elements that go into the composition of the dessert.
• Narrator Elise later adds that the video shows him working on elements of the delicate, edible clock.

Time and craft required for the coffee clock

Duration of production[7:14]
• He says the snippets shown are just a few moments, but in reality it takes about two days of craft.
• Those two days are needed for all the elements to fully rest and to achieve the best textures.

Purpose of his social media and advocacy for pastry

Raising awareness about pastry labor and pricing

Original goal of his social media channel[7:36]
• Amaury reveals that when he started, his social media channel was actually to raise awareness of how much work and power goes into making pastry.
• He wanted to show the effort that justifies the price.
Public perception of pastry prices[7:47]
• He says he often hears people complaining about the price of pastry, such as $5 for an éclair being considered too expensive.
• He acknowledges that this complaint is true from their perspective.
• He contrasts this with people going to nightclubs and spending $35 on a mojito, pointing out the inconsistency.

Role as an ambassador for the sweets industry

Pride in representing pastry and related crafts[8:05]
• Amaury says one thing he is most proud of is being an ambassador of his industry.
• He values being able to display the extent of the beauty that can be achieved in the world of sweets.
• He lists categories such as bread, pastry, chocolate, ice cream, and sugar.
Breaking secrecy in the pastry world[8:30]
• He recalls that when he entered the industry, it was very secretive.
• He says he was able to break the secret and show it to the world.
Changing the perception of pastry as a career[8:17]
• Amaury says that when he got into the industry it was considered almost a "lame" industry.
• He notes that now, children like Latif's son might want to become chefs in the future.
• He emphasizes that these children might pursue being chefs not just because they failed academically.
• He calls this shift his proudest achievement.

Transition to live demonstration and Amaury's non-verbal style

Acknowledging the TED platform and his usual silence online

Appreciation for the platform[8:59]
• Amaury says he thinks the TED platform is amazing for being able to express yourself.
Letting his hands do the talking[9:29]
• He notes that he does not often speak in his videos and usually lets his hands do the work.
• He wanted to give the audience a little bit of his "hand talk" on the platform.

Stage setup for the coffee clock assembly

Description of the cart and camera setup[9:22]
• Narrator Elise explains that a cart is wheeled on stage with all the ingredients needed to make the coffee clock in real time.
• A camera is pointed down on the cart so the audience can see details of what is on it.
Realistic chocolate clock components[9:31]
• On the cart are tiny pieces of a clock, including gears and clock hands painted in metallic colors.
• They look so real that it is hard to believe they are made of chocolate.
• Amaury walks the audience through what would be the final stage of the process: putting the clock together.

Technical demonstration: assembling the chocolate coffee clock

Using molds and preparing the components

Replicating a Swiss cuckoo clock in chocolate[9:48]
• Amaury shows various chocolate elements that were all crafted out of chocolate.
• He obtained an old Swiss cuckoo clock and broke it down.
• He cast silicone molds from that clock so he could replicate it in a chocolate version.
Goal of the onstage demonstration[9:51]
• He states that he wants to show the final assembly of the clock.

Applying tempered chocolate as glue

Starting with the gears[10:04]
• He begins by placing the gears and flipping them upside down.
• He notes that this is tempered chocolate, which he describes as what one might consider glue.
Using a heat gun to control chocolate[10:17]
• He uses a heat gun to keep the chocolate liquid and tempered but not overly warm.
• Narration confirms that he does have a heat gun with him on stage and that the audience hears the sound while he warms the chocolate glue.
Speed of chocolate setting[10:27]
• Latif observes that the chocolate hardens very fast.

Fixing the design to the base and chocolate fundamentals

Flipping and attaching the design[10:41]
• Once the first part is cast, Amaury flips over the design.
• He warms up a spatula and uses it to glue the piece to the base.
Chocolate as a medium of time, temperature, and movement[10:48]
• Amaury sums up that chocolate is all about time, temperature, and mechanical action.
• He says that once you understand how chocolate works, you can start having fun with the material.
Surgical precision and Swiss identity[11:03]
• Latif comments that watching Amaury work feels like watching surgery.
• Latif jokes that making a gold clock out of chocolate is very Swiss.

Physical requirements of being a chocolatier

Cold hands as a job requirement[11:13]
• Amaury says that one of the requirements of being a chocolatier is the coldness of the hands.
• If your hands are above 32 degrees Celsius, you melt the chocolate as you work.
• He notes that his hands are quite cold.
Question about mistakes[11:15]
• Latif asks Amaury if he ever messes up anything.
• Amaury replies, "I do not. No," presenting himself as highly precise.

Completing the clock and audience reaction

Final placement of gears[11:28]
• He states that the last thing is putting the gears onto the clock.
• After finishing the assembly, he says, "Et voilà."
Visual of the finished piece[11:38]
• Narration describes a gorgeous, glossy, dark chocolate cake with the clock sitting on top.

Revealing the interior of the coffee clock and closing the talk

Cutting into the dessert and listing components

Inside layers and flavors[11:57]
• Amaury cuts into the cake and describes the interior.
• Inside there is a chocolate chip cookie, a hazelnut financier, a coffee caramel espresso, and a chocolate mousse.
• Narration notes that the description might make listeners crave chocolate.

Applause and closing remarks onstage

Thanks and playful comparison[13:03]
• Amaury thanks everybody, and Latif thanks him as well.
• Latif calls Amaury "the real life Willy Wonka."

Host's brief wrap-up of the talk

Summary of speakers and effect[12:22]
• Elise Hu identifies the talk as being by Amaury Guichon and Lateef Nasser at TED 2025.
• She says they left the audience craving chocolate.

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Mastery comes from deeply understanding your medium-in Amaury's case, time, temperature, and mechanical action with chocolate-so that you can then "have fun" and innovate confidently.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What is the primary "medium" in my work or life that I need to understand at a deeper, more technical level?
  • • How could spending focused time learning the fundamentals of my craft give me more creative freedom like Amaury has with chocolate?
  • • What is one specific skill or parameter (like time, temperature, or movement) I can study and experiment with this month to gain more control over my results?
2

Balancing substance and appearance-prioritizing taste and texture while still crafting beauty-creates experiences that are both impressive and genuinely satisfying.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in my work or personal life am I overemphasizing how things look instead of how well they actually function or feel?
  • • How might I redesign one project so that its "taste" (outcome and impact) matters more than its "presentation" while still keeping it appealing?
  • • What concrete change can I make this week to improve the real value or quality behind something I normally focus on polishing superficially?
3

Revealing the hidden effort behind your work can reshape how people value it and can elevate an underappreciated field or skill.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What parts of my work are largely invisible to others but crucial to the final result?
  • • How could transparently sharing my process-like Amaury does with pastry-change how colleagues, clients, or loved ones perceive its value?
  • • What is one behind-the-scenes step I could document or explain to someone this week to help them better understand the effort involved?
4

Constraints, such as using a single ingredient or a mostly silent format, can drive creativity and help you stand out in a crowded environment.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which constraints in my current situation could I treat as creative prompts rather than limitations?
  • • How might narrowing my tools, channels, or formats-like focusing on one dominant medium-actually sharpen my originality?
  • • What is one self-imposed constraint I could experiment with on an upcoming project to push my creativity in a new direction?
5

A nontraditional path-like turning academic struggles into a vocational craft-can lead to unique strengths and a distinctive contribution when fully embraced.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which aspects of my background or past "failures" could be reframed as the starting point of a valuable skill or perspective?
  • • How could I lean more into a trade, talent, or interest that doesn't fit the standard academic or corporate mold but energizes me?
  • • What is one concrete step I can take in the next month to develop a skill or path I've quietly considered but never fully pursued?

Episode Summary - Notes by Casey

A pastry chef works his chocolatier magic - live | Amaury Guichon
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