SHIGEO HIRAI
Propriétaire et chef exécutif de la pâtisserie et chocolaterie l’Avenue et Brand Ambassador Les vergers Boiron

Today he is a Brand Ambassador for Les vergers Boiron, and a certified technical advisor of The Federation of Japan Confectionery Associations. What he appreciates most in the philosophy of French pastry transmitted to him by French friends and colleagues, is that quality is more important than anything else. In Japan, he says, “age and experience often complicate the rise of young talents”. He is always open to learning and appreciating people and their passions, whoever they may be. And, as time passes, he is still learning, searching for new ideas and never resting on his laurels. He believes that taste must bring people joy and pleasure and be surprising. His two renowned specialities are chocolate terrine and a chocolate mini-cake that won him his Master’s trophy in Paris. He believes that the taste experience must reflect the change of time, where powerful tastes gradually give way to more subtle savours, like daylight turning to night.
Hazelnut Sponge
Ingredients
- Butter – 110 g
- Icing sugar – 85 g
- Egg yolk – 20 g
- Hazelnut (powder) – 190 g
- Flour T55 – 22,5 g
- Flour T45 – 22,5 g
- Egg white – 170 g
- Caster sugar – 80 g
- Egg white (powder) – 4 g
1 frame 30×40 cm
Sieve both flours with icing sugar.
Add in butter, egg yolks and cream the mixture.
Make a French meringue with egg whites, egg whites powder sugar.
Combine gently the ground hazelnuts into 1/3 of the meringue.
Add the remaining meringue and butter mixture.
Spread on trays and bake at 170°C for 16 minutes.
Cocoa crumble
Ingredients
- Butter – 125 g
- Caster sugar – 125 g
- Almond powder – 100 g
- Cocoa (powder) – 25 g
- Flour – 125 g
Combine the butter and sugar.
Beat in the almond powder and cocoa powder.
Leave in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
Put it into the oven to bake at 150°C for 25 minutes.
Chocolate crumble
Ingredients
- White Chocolate 29% – 125 g
- Cocoa butter – 25 g
- Hazelnut praline paste – 25 g
- Crumble cocoa – 437,5 g
Melt both chocolate and cocoa butter.
Add the ground hazelnuts.
Mix in the crumbled cocoa and divide the mixture evenly into 3 rings.
Ganache
Ingredients
- Cream 35% fat – 150 g
- Invert sugar – 25 g
- Dark chocolate 64% – 135 g
56°C/21°C > 32°C
Boil the fresh cream and inverted sugar together over a medium heat.
Pour into the chocolate and emulsify.
Syrup
Ingredients
- Syrup 30 ° Brix – 90 g
- Williams pears – 30 g
- Water – 15 g
Combine the syrup, liquor and water.
Tonka Crème brûlée
Ingredients
- Cream 35% fat – 600 g
- Tonka (beans) – 6 pcs
- Egg yolk – 134 g
- Egg – 60 g
- Caster sugar – 120 g
- Gelatin (powder) – 6 g
- Water – 30 g
16 cm fléxipan h:1cm
Soak the gelatin in water. Warm the cream in a saucepan and add tonka beans. Infuse 10 minutes
Beat eggs, egg ylks with sugar and sieve th etonka beans infusion over.
Add gelatin and pour in 16 cm flexipan.
Bake at 105°C for 25 minutes.
Cool down and freeze.
Pear Jelly
Ingredients
- Frozen fruit purée 100% : Pear – 266 g
- Frozen fruit purée 100% : Lemon – 7 g
- Caster sugar – 45 g
- Pear (juice) – 14 g
- Gelatin (powder) – 8 g
- Water – 48 g
- Pear – 280g
- Williams pears – 14 g
16 cm = 180 g
Soak the gelatin in water.
Heat the purée, sugar and concentrated syrup to 60°C.
Add gelatin and diced pear, followed by liquor and lemon juice.
Pour over the tonka crême brulée and put back in the freezer.
Chocolate caramel glaze
Ingredients
- Caster sugar – 134 g
- Cream 35% fat – 270 g
- Milk – 142 g
- Neutral glaze – 232 g
- Gelatin (powder) – 5 g
- Water – 30 g
- Dark chocolate 70 % – 180 g
- Milk chocolate 41% – 105 g
Soak the gelatin in water.
Make a dry caramel with sugar and deglaze with warm cream and milk.
Add the neutral glaze and gelatin.
Blend with hand blender and pour over both chocolates.
Blend again with hand blender.
Use at 28°C.
Decoration
- Cocoa crumble
- Silver leaves
- Chocolate decoration
Assembly
- In a 16 cm ring, press the crumble at the bottom.
- Pour the ganache over and stick the hazelnut sponge.
- Freeze.
- Place this sponge base in 18 cm ring and pipe the milk chocolate caramel mousse over.
- Place the pear andtonka bean inserts in.
- Top up with more chocolate caramel mousse.
- Smooth the top and freeez.
- Glaze and decorate with cocoa crumble, silver leaves and chocolate decoration.