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When Vive le France Meets Viva Las Vegas

Posted on July 16
Melinda Sheckells

Melinda Sheckells

A man in a white shirt and black pants gazes up at a statue of a giraffe made of chocolate.

Take a walk on the wild side: Amaury Guichon’s nearly life-size giraffe is made entirely of chocolate. (The Pastry Academy)

One of the most impressive productions in Las Vegas doesn’t require a theater or stage; it takes shape with sugar, vanilla beans, cocoa butter, fruit purees, and heavy cream inside an industrial kitchen in the Arts District.

Here, French-Swiss pastry chef Amaury Guichon turns chocolate into dragons, motorcycles, animals, architectural landmarks, and objects so convincing that millions of viewers wait for proof they are edible.

Guichon co-founded The Pastry Academy in Las Vegas in 2019, a few years before “School of Chocolate” made him a Netflix star. Today, he has millions of social media followers watching every pour, carve, and carefully engineered chocolate reveal.

Behind the viral videos is a serious French technique. Guichon studied pastry in France, apprenticed at Maison Lenôtre in Paris, and later worked in Paris and Las Vegas. The academy transforms that experience into an intensive seven-week program covering pastry, plated desserts, chocolate, ice cream, bread, candy, and chocolate showpieces. Students learn the techniques behind Guichon’s gravity-defying creations while developing original desserts of their own.

This is not the place to wander in for a croissant. The Pastry Academy is a professional training school for aspiring chefs, culinary professionals, and serious pastry enthusiasts. Its presence has quietly made Las Vegas an international destination for French pastry education.

The Eiffel Tower may be made of steel, but Guichon’s Las Vegas creations are considerably more delicious.

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