Eliminated at the gates of the final Best pastry chef, Mohamed looks back on his beautiful journey in the show.
After twelve weeks of competition, the adventure of Best pastry chef is over for Mohamed. The administrative manager stops at the gates of the culinary competition final. It is by tasting a cake of Pierre Hermé offered to his wife that this great guy of 34 years from Seine-Saint-Denis experienced his first pastry emotions. Since then, he has not stopped for a remarkable journey under the famous tent of the M6 program. For us, he looks back on this incredible adventure which has already changed his life.
“The first night I had to put my phone down“
TV-Leisure : Why did you sign up for the show?
Mohamed : Already because I was a fan of the show since the first season. Since the first confinement, I have started baking a lot of cakes. At the same time, M6 broadcast season 9 of the program. I looked at her differently as I had acquired quite a few skills in the meantime. And I wanted to do season 10.
Your friends weren’t aware of your participation. How did they react when they found you?
They didn’t understand anything, they were shocked! They said to each other: “What is he doing on M6? Since when did Momo bake cakes?“It was a skit! The first night I was bombarded with messages and calls. I had to put my phone down. But since then, there are new fans of the show. Every Thursday night, they are in front of M6 and they are at the bottom.
What creation are you most proud of?
I’m thinking … I made a lot of cakes! I think this is the one that I tasted Christelle brua, the pastry chef at the Élysée, because it’s really a cake that suits me. There are the flavors I like in it: chocolate, praline, coffee.
“My children debrief the program at school“
What was the most difficult during these three months of filming?
It was the absence of the family. The first week I didn’t realize I was going to be leaving my kids for a while. I had never left them for more than two days. I took a bag for barely a week, persuaded to see them again on weekends. But with the covid, that was not possible. There was a sanitary bubble, we couldn’t go in, we were tested all the time.
Your children must be very proud of you …
Verry much ! The two little ones don’t realize, but the two big ones are proud. They debrief the show at school with their friends and their teacher! When people stop me in the street to take a picture, my kids think their daddy is a star. (He’s laughing.)
His great fear while participating in the show
What feedback have you received?
They are ultra positive. The thing that scared me the most was being criticized. You know social networks, it goes quickly … Frankly, I had the nice surprise. I must have had a couple of negative posts, but I have more support than anything else. It affects me. I get dozens of messages every day, it’s amazing!
What did you learn about yourself from the show?
Basically, I’m a fairly reserved person. I think it felt. The show allowed me to gain a little more self-confidence, to express myself. It’s an exercise, television! Little by little, I got a taste for it. At first, it was complicated because you can see the cameras. We tell ourselves that through the lens, there are I do not know how many millions of people will look at us, it’s intimidating. But over time, we forget them. From there, it’s easier.
Maud, the most impressive candidate
Which of your competitors amazed you the most?
The level is quite high this year. From the first week, when I saw what the others had released, I told myself that I was not the only one with a little technique. Everyone’s good, but if I had to pull one or two out of the bunch, it would be Maud and Aya. Maud, at 16, it’s crazy! Me, at his age, I didn’t even know how to make pancakes! It is bluffing. And when you talk to her, you don’t feel like she’s 16. She is mature. At first, I told myself that she was going to be eaten by the old people. But not at all ! As for Aya, she impresses me with her rigor and her talent for mixing flavors.
Are you still in contact with certain candidates?
Yes with Jerome and Nicolas. We formed the trio of bearded men, we found each other very well!
A new project!
Today, where are you?
I needed to have my questions answered. My whole family enjoys my cakes. But the opinion of a professional is not the same as that of the family. It has always been my dream that Cyril Lignac and Mercotte taste my cakes. It reassured and comforted me: I bake good cakes. The show allowed me to advance professionally in this field. There, I am in the process of realizing a project which has already made good progress … but I cannot tell you more about it yet.