From Pastry to Plant-Based: An Interview with Award-Winning Vegan Pastry Chef Danielle Maupertuis
Photo credit: Glyn Ridgers
Danielle Maupertuis is not just an acclaimed pastry chef with international awards under her belt; she’s a visionary in the world of vegan desserts. After years of crafting indulgent pastries in a prestigious London hotel, Danielle shifted her focus to vegan creations—redefining the art of plant-based sweets. In this candid interview, she shares the inspiration behind her transition, the challenges she faced, and how she’s inspiring a new generation of bakers with her delicious, vegan treats.
Nicolle: Danielle, you’ve had a remarkable career as a Pastry Chef, winning numerous international awards. What inspired you to transition to creating vegan desserts, and how has the journey been so far?
Danielle: A few years ago, as Executive Pastry Chef in a London 5-star hotel, I was struggling to offer our vegan guests a decent choice of desserts. When an option was offered (and it usually consisted of a fruit salad or sorbet!) it still suffered from a poor presentation and disappointing taste. This is what enticed me to create my own range of vegan desserts, focused on taste and presentation.
The beginnings were not easy. At the time, there was a general distrust of vegan cuisine, considered – unfortunately, sometimes rightly - boring and tasteless. A lack of available ingredients severely limited our creations. The progress in a few years has been impressive, to the point that vegan pastry now has nothing to envy over classic pastry.
Nicolle: You’ve mentioned that you’re currently writing your second book. Can you share any insights into what readers can expect from it? Will it focus on vegan pastries as well?
Danielle: My second cookbook “VEGANISSIMO” is mainly focused on the afternoon teas I create. They are presented by themes: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's... and by seasons: Spring, Summer, etc. The sweets and savouries presented in the cookbook are now vegan AND gluten-free. It's time to offer people suffering from allergies a decent choice of yummy and elegant treats.
Nicolle: Your vegan pop-up afternoon tea club sounds intriguing. What motivated you to start this initiative, and how has the response been from those attending these events?
Danielle: While talking with my students, and with the audience during my talks, I noticed that people are spending less and less time cooking. Even worse, when it comes to baking, pastry is wrongly considered difficult and time-consuming. So, I decided to create this afternoon tea club to bring back the love of baking. My afternoon teas have the unique feature of presenting a short demo "How to create one of my gorgeous desserts". People love it and some have sent me messages: “I started cooking again, thanks to you!"
Nicolle: You’ve expressed concern about the decline of baking as an art form. Can you elaborate on why you think people are spending more time watching cookery shows rather than baking themselves, and how this trend can be reversed?
Danielle: We are losing the art of baking and I want to do something about this. In my demos, I have been asking:
When was the last time you baked from scratch?
When was the last time you baked with your son or daughter?
The answers are not positive.
One must admit that ready-to-eat vegan cuisine has greatly improved and diversified. However, it is often prohibitively expensive, and the best way to adopt vegan cuisine is to return to the stove.
A large gap in vegan cooking classes and education also does not help us explore this new field. Can you believe, there are no vegan cooking programmes on UK TV channels?
This trend will reverse as more people become increasingly concerned about healthy, local, sustainable food. Supply will meet demand.
Photo credit: Glyn Ridgers
Nicolle: As an educator at the Vegetarian Society Cookery School and through your demos, what are some of the key lessons you aim to impart to both amateur and professional chefs regarding vegan pastry?
Danielle: My goal is to convince chefs and amateurs that vegan pastry is easy to make, tastes yummy and looks fantastic. The main quality I like to instil during my classes and demos is self-confidence - the key to the success of a recipe. I also encourage people to participate in live classes, share their experiences, ask questions, make mistakes and correct them. Baking is a stress reliever.
Nicolle: Your training is now a part of the “Professional Chef’s Diploma.” What do you believe is the significance of including vegan pastry in professional culinary education today?
Danielle: Vegan cuisine has recently become so popular that no chef can afford to ignore it anymore. It has become essential to offer at least one vegan option on the menu of any restaurant or tea room. Some places, unfortunately, are still the exception, but not for long.
Photo credit: Darrin Jenkins
Nicolle: You’ve had the opportunity to teach and give talks both in the UK and the US. How do you find the reception to vegan baking differs between these two countries, and what are your future plans for expanding your teaching?
Danielle: In the USA, the interest in veganism really varies from state to state. I started my first experience in Florida where, to my great surprise, vegan cuisine was not very present in the small towns. New York and the West Coast are different of course. Here in the UK, the interest is more harmoniously distributed. Take a small town like Hertford, you will find several vegan groups, cafes and tea rooms. I intend to expand my afternoon teas and masterclasses in the UK, and abroad.
The secret of my happiness is simple: to share my passion for pastry.
Please visit my website and sign up for my newsletter as I would love to welcome The C Word readers to my afternoon tea pop-ups!
Photo credit : Darrin Jenkins
Danielle Maupertuis is a trailblazer in the world of vegan pastry, blending artistry with compassion for both people and the planet. Her passion for creating mouth-watering, plant-based desserts continues to inspire chefs and home bakers alike. With her upcoming book VEGANISSIMO, her pop-up afternoon tea events, and her dedication to teaching, Danielle is on a mission to bring the joy of baking back into our kitchens. Be sure to follow her journey and perhaps even rediscover the joy of baking yourself!
Visit Danielle’s website and social media channels to stay updated on her latest projects and pop-up events!
https://vegandesserts.thinkific.com
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Nicolle Knapova is a little bit of everything. She is a freelance translator, content creator and social media executive for The C Word Mag. She loves indie music and is always browsing through Spotify to find the next amazing artist to obsess over. Her love for storytelling means she’s always writing something and she’s not afraid of any genre. Her biggest dream is to be a published author. If she’s not writing her fan fiction, she’s writing her poetry and sharing it on her Instagram @elisecaverly.
