Cedric Grolet, the internet's most famous pastry chef, is going full Wonka

I have never been asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement for a bonbon before. But this is the kind of thing that happens when negotiating with stars like Cedric Grolet, arguably the most famous pastry chef on the internet and, increasingly, in the real world.

- Julia Moskin

Cedric Grolet (above left) at Cedrat in Paris; his new shop in Paris in September. A selection of his trompe-l'oeil creations, including hazelnut, lemon, apple, grapefruit and nuts (above right). PHOTOS: MATTHIEU SALVAING/THE NEW YORK TIMES

(MATTHIEU SALVAING/THE NEW YORK TIMES)

The French pastry chef has nearly 13 million Instagram followers, more than American TV personality Martha Stewart (5.8 million), American television cook and author Ina Garten (4.8 million) and American chef Bobby Flay (two million) combined.

Grolet's polished, mesmerising videos unveil the craft behind his celebrated flower tarts, chocolate chip cookies and trompe l'oeil desserts resembling apples and lemons.

They have drawn people from around the world to his shops in Paris, where velvet ropes and husky gatekeepers enforce crowd control. Since 2022, he has also opened boutiques in London, St Tropez, Monaco, Singapore and the posh Alpine ski resort Val d'Isere.

By harnessing the power of social media, Grolet, 40, has in five years built the kind of empire that took previous generations of pastry chefs decades to establish.

In an interview conducted in French and English, Grolet said he began rigorous pastry training at 14 in his home town Firminy in the Loire region. It was aimed at pleasing "clients de luxe", the world's 0.0001 per cent who can afford the pleasures of haute patisserie.

But in 2013, when a sous chef pushed him onto Instagram, he realised there was a larger audience for his work online. "It clicked," he said.

On Oct 18, Grolet unveiled his first chocolate shop, Cedric et la Chocolaterie, a Wonka-esque project three years in the making. The centrepiece, visible from the street, is a waterfall of melted chocolate that scents the air, endlessly pouring over a custom stainless-steel wall.