Returning to the city where he trained, pastry chef Amaury Guichon shared the secrets behind his extraordinary rise from Riviera student to global creator during a Meta keynote at the Cannes Lions 2025 this week.<\/p>\n
By the time Amaury Guichon walked onto the stage, many people in the audience already knew him simply as “The Chocolate Guy”.<\/p>\n
With more than 17 million followers and billions of video views across his social channels, the French-Swiss pastry chef has transformed intricate chocolate sculptures into a global entertainment phenomenon.<\/p>\n
Yet despite the extraordinary scale of his success, Guichon’s message was surprisingly simple: listen to your audience, trust your team and never stop creating.<\/p>\n
For Riviera audiences, there was another reason the appearance felt special. Long before becoming one of the world’s most recognised pastry chefs, Guichon trained in Cannes, making his return to the city something of a homecoming.<\/p>\n
The session, hosted by Meta’s Nicola Mendelsohn, explored how a young chef from the French Riviera became one of the most influential food creators on the planet.<\/p>\n
Guichon’s creations regularly blur the line between food, art and engineering.<\/p>\n
Over the years he has built giant chocolate dragons, watches, animals, vehicles and architectural masterpieces that have captivated audiences around the globe.<\/p>\n
A two-time Guinness World Record holder, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential pastry chefs working today.<\/p>\n
But while the sculptures are impressive, Guichon believes their appeal goes deeper.<\/p>\n
“Everyone relates to chocolate,” he explained.<\/p>\n
Regardless of where people live, most have a personal memory or emotional connection linked to chocolate. That universal appeal helps explain why his content resonates across cultures and languages.<\/p>\n
One of the recurring themes of the session was the importance of knowing your community.<\/p>\n
With millions of followers, Guichon has access to detailed audience insights that help him understand what viewers enjoy most.<\/p>\n
Over time, he has learned that certain themes consistently connect with people.<\/p>\n
Childhood favourites such as LEGO creations, cartoon characters and playful designs often outperform darker or more experimental ideas.<\/p>\n
Halloween content, for example, may seem like an obvious opportunity for dramatic sculptures, but Guichon discovered that audiences were less interested in horror-themed creations than in pumpkins and family-friendly designs.<\/p>\n
The lesson was clear: creativity matters, but understanding your audience matters too.<\/p>\n
For someone producing content viewed by millions around the world, Guichon’s operation is remarkably lean.<\/p>\n
He revealed that only a handful of people work behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
A small production team helps capture footage, while assistants support the pastry work itself. Much of the editing is still completed by Guichon personally, often during weekends.<\/p>\n
The revelation drew a surprised reaction from many in the audience.<\/p>\n
In an era when large-scale content operations often require dozens of people, Guichon’s success demonstrates how much can be achieved with a focused team and a clear creative vision.<\/p>\n
Despite being the face of the brand, Guichon was quick to credit those around him.<\/p>\n
One of his most memorable observations was that a good chef understands they do not have a monopoly on good ideas.<\/p>\n
Inspiration comes from everywhere.<\/p>\n
Team members frequently contribute suggestions and concepts, helping shape projects that eventually appear online.<\/p>\n
For Guichon, creativity is at its strongest when people are willing to listen and collaborate.<\/p>\n
It is a philosophy that has helped him continually evolve while maintaining the sense of wonder that first attracted audiences to his work.<\/p>\n
Asked about the biggest turning point in his social media journey, Guichon pointed to short-form video.<\/p>\n
The rise of Reels dramatically expanded the reach of his content and introduced his work to entirely new audiences.<\/p>\n
The format’s ability to capture attention quickly proved perfectly suited to the mesmerising nature of chocolate sculpture.<\/p>\n
Watching a giant creation emerge from blocks of chocolate is inherently satisfying. Reels allowed those transformations to reach viewers around the world in seconds.<\/p>\n
Meta’s collaboration features have also played a role, helping creators share content across communities and broaden their audiences.<\/p>\n
Even after years of success, Guichon shows little sign of slowing down.<\/p>\n
Among the ideas discussed on stage was the possibility of recreating Meta’s smart glasses entirely in chocolate – the sort of ambitious challenge that has become synonymous with his work.<\/p>\n
For a creator whose career has been built on turning unlikely ideas into reality, it hardly seemed impossible.<\/p>\n
What makes Guichon’s story particularly compelling is that his success has never been solely about pastry.<\/p>\n
His videos combine craftsmanship, storytelling, engineering, humour and nostalgia in ways that appeal to people far beyond the world of fine dining.<\/p>\n
In many respects, he has become less of a chef and more of a creator whose medium happens to be chocolate.<\/p>\n
And as delegates filed out of the theatre at Cannes Lions, they were given a final ‘sweet’ reminder of that fact: a chocolate coin created by Guichon himself.<\/p>\n
It was a small gesture, but one that perfectly captured the themes of the session – craftsmanship, creativity and a little bit of wonder.<\/p>\n
Not a bad recipe for success. And VERY tasty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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