Marijn Coertjens is the maître chocolatier at the helm of The Peninsula Hong Kong’s Chocolate Room, where all the chocolate for the hotel’s F&B outlets is made. Mentoring a dedicated team of chocolatiers, who are busy coming up with novel flavours and beautiful creations, Coertjens and the team make 1,500 kg of loose chocolates for sale in The Peninsula Boutique every year, together with an average of 7,000 boxes of boxed chocolate per month.
Growing up in Belgium, renowned worldwide for its fine chocolate, Coertjens is dedicated to chocolate, while internships in Japan during holidays in 2006-2008 and again in 2009 played a significant role in his career.
Eventually returning to Belgium, Coertjens worked with his mentor, Marc Ducobu, the chef with whom he had long dreamed about collaborating and who was an inspiration during his early career. Coertjens’ first love of chocolate was ignited after he saw Ducobu’s aesthetic chocolate showpieces at the 2001 International Belgian Chocolate Awards.
Coertjens was proudly crowned “Best Belgian Chocolatier” for the first time in 2007 and once again in 2015 at which time he won first place overall in the competition, as well as garnering two accolades for “Best Chocolate To Go Concept” and “Best Chocolate Showpiece” in the Belgian selection of the World Chocolate Masters competition. He is competing in the World Chocolate Masters 2015 final in Paris this October.
A perfectionist, Coertjens believes that the equation for excellence in chocolate making comes from the sum total of passion, hard work and a consistent approach to quality.
Q: Speaking as a chocolate lover as well as a food writer, the chocolates at The Peninsula Hong Kong are remarkable. Could you just briefly give us an overview of the chocolate creations that you make in the Chocolate Room other than the individual chocolates?
A: Thank you for that comment! In the Chocolate Room at The Peninsula Hong Kong, we make all kinds of chocolate treats, ranging from bonbons weighing about 8g, to large showpieces and everything in between. For room amenities, we have different chocolate items for all occasions: a celebration chocolate box with a chocolate ribbon, Cuban chocolate cigars, tailor-made high heeled shoes, lollipops and figures for kids and so on.
The showpieces are for very special events where we place them on a buffet table or even as decorations in the hotel. The chocolate decorations that you see on our cakes and desserts are also made in the Chocolate Room.
Q: What flavours are your favourites from your creations for The Peninsula and what goes into maintaining the fabulous quality?
A: The chocolates are my creations and I can’t choose a favourite, just like you can’t choose a favourite out of your kids! It has everything to do with your mood, how you feel and what you are thinking of. The chocolate collection is made to have something for everybody; when I ask people what their favourite chocolate is, they all name a different flavour. This is why I put together a collection to suit everybody’s tastes.
To maintain the quality, of course, first of all we need to taste very often! No, seriously it’s to train the team. Working with chocolate is very technical and it is hard to undo an error that you made during the process. For that reason we have to be extremely focused and meticulous at all times and keep our ingredients under control.
Q: The Chocolate Room provides all the chocolate used in the various restaurants; do you work directly with the chefs to create specific chocolate types, flavours and shapes? What kind of challenges do they offer you?
A: The chocolates that are served as petit fours are mostly from the standard collection. I’ve also created chocolates especially for Gaddi’s and Chesa, which you can only find at each of these two restaurants.
Normally then I would first have a discussion with the restaurant’s head chef along with our group executive chef on what they’re looking for and then set about the task. They usually have full confidence in me and my creations, and so I come up with my own unique flavours.
Q: You have a range of intriguing chocolate showpieces made for different commemorative events at The Peninsula that are on display in the Chocolate Room; how do you come up with the ideas and which are your favourites?
A: Thank you once again for the compliment. Well I always start with a theme; this can be of something I want to express, a festive occasion or a concept that fits a specific event. Then I have to find the right elements to showcase the subject and, of course, use the right techniques.
It’s always a new challenge to make a showpiece. You have to put a great deal of thought and creativity into your showpiece, and importantly you must feel good about it. I always try something new to challenge myself; it’s difficult but when it gives the extra magic to a piece, you feel satisfied. Again, it’s difficult to choose a favourite; every new showpiece is made with tremendous effort and energy and I guess at the time every new piece becomes my favourite.
Q: What has been the most challenging chocolate creation you have made and why? And which was the most unusual and why?
A: The most challenging is the showpiece I have created for the World Chocolate Masters final this year, it has taken me 14 months to make. I knew it had to be something very special for the judges who, naturally, have already seen so many great pieces. To impress them, you really have to give your maximum effort and push the limits of what has been done before.
I also need to take into account that I use the most appropriate techniques for the showpiece, which gives it its glow and charm, and deliver to the judges within the set timeframe. So when you ask about challenge, for a chocolatier, it doesn’t get any more challenging than this.
Unusual… Well, I’m not a big fan of doing unusual things just to woo people, as most of the time they are poorly executed and turn out to be something else. You need to be an avid chocolate creator and be confident in everything you make in order for something “unusual” to become something “extraordinary”, which is perhaps my goal.
Q: You take part in a lot of competitions; what drives you to do this and how does this impact on future creations?
A: I always want to be at the top of the game and I’m not somebody who just wants to talk about it. In a competition, you can’t hide behind an image or a reputation or just take a lucky shot. If you want to win, you have to work hard, be creative and have a lot of knowledge of the product that you’re working with.
I’m not competing to be part of the group, but to impress with what I can do live in front of the judges. With this in mind, I push myself to the limits, and this will result in getting better and coming up with new creations and techniques.
It also provides impetus and development to our profession as you always try to find new techniques to make chocolates that will impress the judges. What we do at the highest level can lead the way in the world of chocolate and pastries and is not confined to our creations, kitchens and competitions; in fact it is a fundamental part of the industry’s professional evolution.
Q: Working with chocolate every day, do you still enjoy eating it?
A: Yes, I enjoy eating chocolate a lot, but only when it’s good quality. I think it’s the same as great winemakers, when you are so specialised in one domain, you become very picky but of course you also know what to pick to avoid disappointment.
Q: Do you have any advice for budding chocolate masters?
A: You can’t be a master when you first begin. It takes time and a lot of hard work to get to the top of the game. You need to be passionate, focused on what you want to achieve and determined to achieve your goals and not settle for anything less. You just need to keep pushing your limits to reach the top and have faith that you will get there. Believe in your talents and what you’re capable of creating.
Steamed Chocolate Cake
o 125 g Bread flour
o 80 g Cake flour
o 50 g Cocoa powder
o 4 g Custard powder
o 8 g Baking powder
o 225 g Brown sugar
o 3 pcs Eggs
o 125 g Butter
o 1 pc Vanilla
o 60 g Maple syrup
o 190 g Evaporate
Methode
Sift the flours, cocoa powder, custard powder and baking powder.
Whip the eggs with the brown sugar in an electric mixer.
Melt the butter with the scraped vanilla and sea salt.
Mix the butter, honey and evaporated milk with the eggs and then fold in the flour and chocolate drops.
Line a cake tin with baking paper and pour in the batter.
Cover with tinfoil and steam in a covered pan with boiling water for about 1 hour; check with a needle to see if the center is cooked.
Take the cake out of the water bath and remove from the tin. Cut into rectangular pieces.
Place baking paper on the bottom of a bamboo steam basket and place the sponge pieces on top.
Before serving, steam for 2 minutes on top of a pan with boiling water.d milk
o 100 g Chocolate drops
o 6 g Sea salt
