ÉRIC LANLARD

Éric Lanlard is a French pâtissier and celebrity chef, born in Plomelin, Brittany. His love of pastry began at the age of five, staring through the windows of a patisserie in his hometown of Quimper — a place he would later return to work at as an eighteen-year-old trainee pastry chef. He went on to train as an apprentice chocolatier in Luxembourg before completing his French national service aboard the naval cruiser Jeanne d'Arc, where his cooking so impressed President François Mitterrand that he was presented with a pair of gold cufflinks.
 

Éric moved to the UK in 1989 to join Albert and Michel Roux, becoming their head pastry chef within two years. In 1995 he set up his own business, Laboratoire 2000, which he relaunched in 2005 as Cake Boy — part bakery, part cookery school. His celebrated cake commissions include Madonna and Guy Ritchie's wedding croquembouche, wedding cakes for Elizabeth Hurley and Claudia Schiffer, Brooklyn Beckham's christening cake, and a cake for the Queen Mother's 101st birthday featuring two corgis in tiaras.
 

Éric has fronted his own Channel 4 series, Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard and Glamour Puds, and has twice been named Continental Patissier of the Year at the British Baking Awards. He is the author of numerous cookbooks, including Glamour Cakes, Cake Boy, Master Cakes, and Chocolat: Seductive Recipes for Bakes, Desserts, Truffles and Other Treats.