TITLE: Next generation pastry chef

They work in the shadows. Driven by deep respect for their mentors, these young people, radiating kindness, patiently repeat their actions until they achieve perfection. Their role models? Those they serve today, on stage, acclaimed by hundreds of fans.

It is 2023 at the "Salon du Chocolat" in Paris, a prestigious exhibition for French pastry. I have been commissioned as the official photographer, and alongside this assignment, I often pursue a more personal and documentary project on a subject that has caught my eye or touched my sensibility.

What captivated me this time are these young, polite, disciplined, and talented individuals I encounter from 7 AM to 9 PM in the salon's backstage, where visitors do not enter. For five days, they do everything possible so that great chefs can perform their pastry demonstrations and let hundreds of people taste these wonders.

Then, on the last day, their teacher takes the stage. It is their school being represented, and the excitement is at its peak. One day, it will be their turn...

AUTHOR: Louis Brunet (France)

After 8 years of a successful career in engineering, I decided in 2012 to go to a more exciting, human and creative job, as a documentary photographer. A choice that I thank everyday, leading me to discover and understand the world, meeting amazing people, and renewing my vision of the life. One vision among thousands of others, which modestly contribute to the high diversity we can find in photography, each of us telling stories in a different way.