Pastry chef
Francois Behuet
- Discipline
- Pastry chef
i. Biography
Caen, France, is where the bench work started for Francois Behuet, and the line through his career runs through pastry kitchens, chocolate production, and hotel-scale finishing. The craft here is built on repetition and control: apprenticeship in Normandy, then chocolate, then production management, then the larger remit of pastry programs in France, New York, and Los Angeles. In that sequence, Francois Behuet shows the kind of path that moves from hand skills to coordination without losing the work at the center.
Coming Up
Technique was built early in 2004, when Francois Behuet entered the apprentice pastry kitchen at Roussel Pastry in Caen, France. That first post put him inside the daily discipline of pastry production, where precision is learned movement by movement. By 2006, the focus had shifted to chocolate at Chocolaterie Les Marianik's in Deauville, France, a step that placed chocolate work more directly into the center of his practice. As a chocolate demonstrator at Flyn Chef, Francois Behuet also worked in the public-facing side of the trade, where execution has to read clearly as well as hold together technically. In 2012, he moved into production manager of Chocolate Bonbons production at Chocolaterie Jadis et Gourmande in Paris, France, a role defined by scale, consistency, and coordination. That foundation in France carried into a wider professional run in the United States, where the work broadened from chocolate into full pastry programs. Francois Behuet served as executive chocolate chef at Francois Payard in New York, United States, then as Executive Pastry Chef at Petrossian, before taking on research and development lead for the opening of Bottega Louie's West Hollywood location at Bottega Louie in Los Angeles, California, United States. Each role pushed the scope outward: from production to development, from established service to opening work, and from chocolate-specific responsibilities to broader pastry management. He later became Executive Pastry Chef at Pendry West Hollywood in West Hollywood, California, United States, continuing in large-format hospitality pastry where finish and consistency have to hold across volume. Today, Francois is Executive Pastry Chef of The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, where the remit sits at the level of hotel pastry leadership. The work reaches beyond plated desserts into chocolate showpieces for holidays and award shows, pieces that have to carry structure, visual clarity, and the same control expected from the kitchen itself. He is also a member of the USA Pastry Team, which places him among peers in a setting where technique is measured against other working pastry chefs.
Where They Are Now
His Los Angeles chapter led to Executive Pastry Chef roles at Pendry West Hollywood and then The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. At that stage of the career, the work is as much about presentation as flavor. He creates chocolate showpieces for holidays and award shows, pieces that must carry visual drama while still speaking to the exacting standards of pastry. It is a role that sits at the intersection of performance and precision, where timing, structure, and finish all matter. He is also a member of the USA Pastry Team, a distinction that places him within a broader professional framework of competition, collaboration, and craft.
Career - Executive Pastry Chef — The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, Los Angeles, California, United States - Pastry chef apprentice — Roussel Pastry, Caen, France (from 2004) - Chocolate apprentice — Chocolaterie Les Marianik's, Deauville, France (from 2006) - Chocolate demonstrator — Flyn Chef - Production manager of Chocolate Bonbons production — Chocolaterie Jadis et Gourmande, Paris, France (from 2012) - Executive chocolate chef — Francois Payard, New York, United States - Executive Pastry Chef — Petrossian - Research and development lead for
