Amaury Guichon

Originally, I come from France.

I'm French and Swiss.

I started in the culinary when I was 14 years old.

I was not great academically speaking, so I was encouraged to go to trades.

I picked culinary out of a hat, really.

And after my savory training, I drifted away towards the sweet side, and I really fell in love with the transformation of raw,

raw ingredients into elaborate products.

When I was 21, I wanted to learn how to speak English.

I was like most French people.

We don't speak English very well.

So I thought I would take one year to learn how to speak English.

I was not too picky on the destination.

And I got an opportunity to come to Vegas 12 years ago, and knowing that I don't party, I don't drink, I didn't think Vegas would be really home for me, but I found that in reality, the extravagance from Vegas was a perfect pairing with my ability to craft wonders.

Yeah, it's the beauty of the material.

Aside from other mediums in the field where we rely on wood, metal, wires, chocolate can do everything by itself and is 100 percent fully edible.

People sometimes think I even use paint on my product, but it's really edible pigment mixed with the cocoa butter, the fat part of the cocoa bean, that makes the showpiece so beautiful.

It may not surprise you, but I do do that.

I mean, everybody that understands chocolate can transform it into art.

I think the complexity as a trained pastry chef is, how do we not compromise the taste, the texture, and yet craft beauty?

And I think this is where it becomes much more complex.