Audrey Dufay: Chocolate Maker With a Conscience

Introduction

Audrey Dufay is the Chef and Owner of Terre de Sienne.   A bar of unique chocolate made by hand from ethically sourced ingredients. Audrey started working at the age of 21, in France, as an apprentice at Sadaharu Aoki. She has worked in various pastry shops and restaurants in Europe and Australia. The idea of making her own chocolate came from research about the chocolate industry and the will to make a change in the way chocolate is sourced and handled. Some chocolate makers choose to get their chocolate as a semifinished product after the grinding or conching stage. At Terre de Sienne, she prefers to get the beans after the drying stage, sort them, roast them and turn them into chocolate. She believes in corporate social responsibility and sources ethically and respects the environment.

Audrey, I want to know something unique and important about you that no one knows. Go ahead and tell me?

I believe that sexism is still a thing. I still don’t feel treated the same as men around me. I keep quiet. I try to make a change. There is this trend of calling a woman “feminist”, like if it is a bad word every time we denounce unfair treatment.

Help me understand what inspired you to become a pastry chef? On a daily basis, where do you go for your inspiration to become creative?

I have always loved food. However, I did not see it as a career, until I faced an obstacle. I was studying medicine until the age of 20.  I did not get the grades to get into the specialty that I wanted. The French school system being what it is didn’t allow me to sign up on time for my plan B.

Not knowing what to do actually drove me to what I wanted the most, make food, especially pastry and chocolates.

I get my inspiration from my love for a good dessert. I love to cook what I love to eat. I also like to discover new flavors and start from the ingredients themselves, instead of creating on paper and then ordering the ingredients needed to make the dish.

Did you go to culinary school or are you self taught?

I always prefer to teach myself rather than learn from others. I think that it gives me more freedom, allows me to think outside of the box, and to try new techniques.

But I have to say that the basics have to be taught, for this, I did an apprenticeship in France, 1 week at school, 3 weeks at work, for a year.

Talk to me about your three most favorite ingredients in the pastry kitchen and why do you like them?

My favorite ingredients are:

• Dark chocolate. I just fell in love with making it. There are so many ways to make it and use it.
• Almonds. I love praline, marzipan, frangipan.. as long as it is not too sweet.
• Fruits. It is too hard for me to pick one. I just love them all. They are amazing to work with in pastry, raw, cooked, poached, roasted.. once again so many things to do with them.

If you were given a chance to rewrite all the pastry books in the world, what three ingredients would you get rid of and why?

I would get rid of:

• Food coloring. It is not needed and it’s been overly used recently in my opinion. It happens that I have to use it as well. However, I am trying to be sensitive about it and keep my food as real as possible.
• Bought in fruit purées. I understand that some chefs find it great to keep recipes constant and be able to make a strawberry mousse in the middle of winter, but this is where the problem is. Working with seasonal ingredients is very important to me. I like to work around what’s available at the time.
• Lecithin. I just think that it’s a cheat to make preparation more stable and looking better when there is no real need for it.

Walk me through the city you live in. How is the food scene? What are the hot restaurants? Why should we visit your city?

I am new to the area so I will speak about the city I used to live in before that.

I just moved from Sydney, Australia. It has the best food scene I have experienced so far. From a very cheap Asian “street food style” food court to fine dining restaurant. I have been blown away by the diversity of the food there. There is food from everywhere, especially from Asia (which was perfect for me because this is my favorite food), and for every occasion, breakfast, late brunch, cheap lunch, afternoon cakes and bubble teas, to a fancy restaurant and late-night eateries.

Places to visit :

Food courts/fast food: laksa from Happy chef, ramen from Gumshara, fried chicken from Butter, char hor fun from Ho Jiak..and many more.

Do you believe in ethical sourcing for your chocolate?

Ethical sourcing is extremely important to me. It is just the right thing to do. People work hard to provide ingredients, they should get the respect they deserve.

Explain to me what does women’s empowerment means to you?

I have mixed feelings about women’s empowerment. I think that it’s a great thing but at the same time, it shouldn’t even exist. Women should have had the same “power” and authority from the beginning. Therefore it shouldn’t be any empowerment needed.

Sadly it is still needed, but I am happy to live in a time when things are changing, and there are people to hear you out, and help you on the journey.

Do women make better pastry chefs? Why?

I don’t like to put gender on job skills, I would say that if we do become better it could be because of the feeling that we have to work twice as hard to get what we want.

You were at the savor patissier of the year competition in Australia. How was the competition?

It was a very good experience. A great way to be aware of my weaknesses and to grow from it.

What are your future plans for the chocolate business? How does personal finance play a role in that?

I just started my chocolate business. I am leaving pastry on the side to focus on chocolate making.

I am sourcing my cocoa beans ethically, and treat them with respect to the environment. I banned single-use plastic from my kitchen and from my packaging. To make a change we need to start from ourselves and this is why I made those decisions. They might not be financially the best option, but this is what feels right to me.

I have been planning on having my own business for a very long time. I have been saving since then, in order to provide the equipment needed, my branding, how I want it to be, and take my time to make things right, while paying my rent and my food for as long as it takes to have a profitable business.

Life throws all kinds of curveballs at us. I want to know something challenging in your life. How you overcame it and what did you learn from that?

The most challenging thing I overcame is probably not succeeding while in medical school. However, it’s also what brought me where I am at the moment. It was the most challenging time for me because I was young and in the mindset of a 20 years old student, who thinks that school success is everything. I am very happy to have discovered that life is full of other kinds of curveballs and that there is always a way to grow from it no matter how hard it feels at the time.

How has your family helped you with the person that you are today?

My family has helped me by letting me be the person I wanted to be. They give me good advice here and there when I needed it, by telling me off when I was getting off track. But they never told me that I couldn’t do anything. I always felt supported in my own choices. Out of the three sisters, I am the only one who didn’t carry on in a medical career and it has never been a problem or even mentioned by my parents. There was only one condition in what we were doing, do it if it makes you happy and with passion.

You make your own chocolate…talk to me about it. Where can we get it?

I get my cocoa beans from a company called uncommoncacao. The beans are from transparent trade. My customers can trace how much the farmers are paid, and what is the condition of work. Once I have them. I roast them, sort them, crack them and remove the husk from the nibs. I turn the nibs in cocoa liquor with my grinder, then I add the other ingredients. Once all that is done I temper the chocolate, mold it in bars and package it.

My chocolate is on sale online at https://www.terredesiennechocolate.com/ for UK and France. I am also looking for retails spots. I just found my first one in a beautiful antique shop in Worthing UK, the display is a 1948 chocolate fridge. I am very excited to display my chocolate there (Bygone Treasures, 33 Brighton Rd).

My daughter is 15. She wants to make a career as a pastry chef. Give her some advice on the dedication, hard work, sacrifice and the long hours involved?

For me, the key is passion. Being a pastry chef is hard, like any other chef’s, there are long days. Sometimes over 14hours. We never have weekends off. Therefore, it is hard to have a social life. But with passion, it is worth it. You just need to keep your goal in mind, know where you want to go and what you want to achieve, and it all falls into place.

How do you deal with the long hours and stress of the job?

To be honest it is still very hard for me after more than 12hours straight standing on my feet. I try to feel better by having a laugh with my colleagues and keep a positive vibe. I like the heat of service. It gives a kick of adrenaline. On the other hand, the stress that comes from the hierarchy can be quite toxic. I deal with this by talking it out with my boyfriend who is also a chef and understands.

Vegans are on the rise. What are some of the desserts you serve vegan clients?

For vegans, I like to make almond milk chocolate ganache, with fresh fruit and fruit sorbet.

You are chosen to go to MARS. You are allowed only 5 personal items. What would it be and why?

A camera to take as many pictures as possible, my partner, my two sisters (I hope they count as items), and some chocolate.