More than an everyday consumer product, jam is an art, a know-how that is now regaining its nobility thanks to a preparation technique “like in the past”. At Maison Michelet, Chef Jean-Christophe Michelet helps us rediscover this ancestral art that values the product above all.
Maison Michelet is not a company like the others. The research of the taste is pushed to the extreme to leave an imperishable memory to our palates.
For the Chef, “like a fruit that is made, in the heart of each pot, this one is king”.
Maison Michelet combines creativity and technicality to propose collections of jams and jellies out of the ordinary.
The story of an alchemist jam maker
Grandson of a farmer, Jean-Christophe Michelet spent his childhood tasting the flavors of the land. His passion for gastronomy naturally led him to a culinary career where he tried his hand at jam making.
Crowned double World Champion of jam makers in 2019, he became a disciple of Escoffier and was elected jam maker of the year (2019, 2020 and 2021) by the World Gastronomy Organization. The Chef is also an associate member of the Joël Robuchon promotion of the Culinary Academy of France.
He achieves excellence, placing his jams in the world rank of references in the field with his jam “Le péché des anges”, which won in 2019 the World Championships of jam makers. In the respect of the ancestral know-how, the jam reaches a level of creativity and a technicality never equaled until now.
An alchemist of “flavors”, he competes with ingenuity to invent new sensations that he boldly combines in each of his collections. Like a “haute couture” product, the culinary art is here at its peak using unsuspected ingredients for new and surprising compositions.
The art of creating jam
For a jam to be tasty, the raw material must be exceptional. That’s why the Chef selects the best ingredients from local producers in France and around the world.
Each creation of Maison Michelet subtly blends new sensations for a unique experience: color, aroma, flavor, mouthfeel and even the sound of the product through the crunch of a piece of fruit. All the senses are awakened so that the tasting remains a moment of intense and memorable pleasure.
The genius of a master jam maker is to draw his inspiration from his passion for the land and his childhood memories. Like a mad scientist, he imagines and transforms a fruit, a vegetable, a spice to sublimate its taste and offer it an amazing orientation far from conventions and known flavors.
The fruit is tasty and restoring it intact in a jam that will be enjoyed out of season is a challenge. A watchword: respect the artisanal process of our ancestors.
A 100% plant-based and natural jam
Strawberry, pear, peach or apricot jam… Hay, hibiscus or lotus jelly… the Chef works with a reduced number of products to concentrate on the essential.
At Maison Michelet, the plant is sublimated even in the words. The Grâal, the Flower of Eternity, the Unusual Strawberry, the Apple of Lost Paradise… In an exceptional range, the fruits become “stars” in all sensuality.
Thanks to a unique process, Michelet has invented a new way of cooking by sublimating the original flavor of food, without any additional sugar or sweetener. This 100% plant and natural base releases the taste of the fruit and its natural sugars.
Why insist on adding sugars when the original fruit offers all its flavor by itself?
The Chef pays particular attention to the quality of his raw ingredients: the fruit must be perfect. He tastes the product, which immediately inspires a recipe. And the inspiration comes to him instantly. Then he tests it, transforms it and embellishes it until he gets a result that meets his aspirations.
“With excellent products, we make a wonderful jam.” – Jean-Christophe Michelet
Maison Michelet uses only seasonal products from sustainable agriculture and raw ingredients grown in an ethical and responsible manner. The fruits and vegetables come from local producers committed to sustainable development.
The jam that combines tradition and modernity
For Jean-Christophe Michelet, the profession of jam maker is a forgotten art that professionals should reconsider.
For those who work in vegan pastry, it is essential to know the fruit they are going to use. Knowing how to choose it is important, but it is also necessary to know the product in all its essence to reveal its flavors and make it an exceptional recipe.
In the hotel industry, breakfast jam is essential if, and only if, it is of good quality. Jam is our morning ally. Vegetal and healthy, it allows us to reconnect with our main moments of life.
Through his work, the Chef demonstrates that it is possible to enhance the flavor of a product without artifice, without added sugar, in all naturalness.
Concerned about future generations, the Chef insists on the idea that professionals have an educational role to play. It is a question of transmitting our ancestral know-how that has been lost over time and of guiding young people on the path of good sense.
“More than a trend, fighting against the overconsumption of sugar, especially among the younger generations, is becoming a necessity.” – Jean-Christophe Michelet
The work of Jean-Christophe Michelet proposes a form of coherence and a return to the essential. The work of jam undoubtedly allows us to put meaning back into the culinary professions, to rely on our traditions to build the future.