Thierry Muret was 22 when he traded his lab coat for a chef’s hat. Now the Belgian scientist uses his knowledge of molecular-level crystal formation to create new chocolates, flavors and menus for Godiva.
The uniform switch began with a discussion with his sister about opening an artisanal Belgian chocolate shop in Chicago. The year was 1982, and Mr. Muret was an industrial chemistry graduate who knew nothing about chocolate.
To prepare for his new life in the U.S. he landed a chocolate-making apprenticeship under a master chocolatier, Rene Gossens, in Antwerp. “The first thing he taught me was how to temper chocolate by hand, and he said, ‘it’s all about crystals.’” Mr. Muret says. “I told him, ‘I can actually explain to you scientifically what’s going on if you show me how to do it.”
Thierry Muret
- Age: 59
- Location: Reading, Pa.
- Title: Executive chef chocolatier, Godiva Chocolatier
- Time in the job: Three years in current role, 31 years at Godiva
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in industrial chemistry with a specialization in crystallography, University of Belgium
He and his sister opened their chocolate shop in 1984. Godiva’s CEO discovered Mr. Muret four years later at a New York food exhibition. He approached Mr. Muret’s booth and tasted his truffles. The chef was offered a job the very next day.
Here is Mr. Muret’s story, edited and condensed from a recent interview.
You originally wanted to be a scientist. Do you still use your background in science as a chocolatier?
Every single day I use my science degree. Chocolate-making is really a partnership between science and culinary [arts]. For example, normally when you temper chocolate everything needs to be in the 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit range. Today, you have technologies that allow you to dip a frozen cone into tempered chocolate and then you have a perfectly thin shell. You need to understand the science behind that.
When you think about molecular gastronomy, that’s what it is exactly. The chefs are actually decomposing the food and recomposing as they see fit.
What do you wear at work?
I wear my trade, so I have the typical chef uniform, with the jacket and hat. I’m the only one wearing clogs because that’s what we wear in the kitchen.
Do chocolatiers need any particular education or training?
Generally, the normal path is to do your pastry degree, and from there specialize in chocolate and confections.
When making chocolate, Mr. Muret said, ‘you need to respect temperature and time.’.
What does your work as executive chef chocolatier entail?
I am responsible for any new product that is going to be put on the market. Generally, we identify consumer trends and then I generally create a prototype that fits that trend, to see if it’s suitable for the brand.
Then I show the prototype to my colleagues in marketing, in manufacturing. It’s a little bit like the chef’s table in a restaurant or a hotel. If everything is okay, we start making it.
What are the challenges of working with chocolate?
Chocolate is one of the most difficult materials to work with. In the culinary world, your windows of preparation are generally pretty large before you really screw up a dish. In pastry, the windows become tighter. You need to respect temperature and time, you need to be careful. In confectionery, especially chocolate, we are dealing with temperatures that cannot fluctuate more than half a degree Fahrenheit.
That’s why chocolate-making became a specialty. Pastry chefs can handle chocolate, but a pastry kitchen or bakeries in general are really not adequate for chocolate-making. You need a special room for that.
What skills do aspiring chocolatiers need to succeed?
You need to be passionate about what you do, because chocolate is going to be nasty to you at one point or another into your career. You won’t be in tune, you’ll miss the right temperature or time, and then everything you have worked on looks awful.
I worked 12 months just to develop one ganache because I could not find the right texture and flavor delivery, and that’s just because chocolate is such a difficult material. You need to be passionate about what you do, and you need to be patient. But I’m telling you, if you come into this field, you will learn the rest of your life.
What’s your typical workday like? Do you have a routine?
No one day is similar, but I do have a routine, I get up around 5:30 or 6 in the morning and take care of all of the administrative stuff. Then I come to the kitchen, where my sous-chef has some prototypes made. We can taste them, we can look at the recipe, we can modify them.
My sous-chef starts at 4 in the morning and she leaves around 1, and then I take over whatever samples need to be done. But there are days when I may be in New York, exploring new techniques in the satellite kitchen there, or I can be in Brussels talking about new candies for Christmas for 2020.
What is the most rewarding part of making chocolate?
When your creativity [rises above] all else. Once I was commissioned to do a showpiece for the Macy’s Flower Show in New York, and as soon as I had the commission I could not let it go. I started working 24/7. The showpiece was very complicated. I woke up in the middle of the night with a technique I wanted to try and immediately got into the shower and went to the kitchen to try it. That’s where you have the inspiration. That’s where the routine is broken.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
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