Chef Eric Lanlard

For someone looking to forge a career in food, moving from France to London at the beginning of the Nineties seems like a crazy step to take. However, it has more than worked out for Eric Lanlard.

Not only can he be seen on television, judging and giving advice on GMTV and Masterchef, he presents his own show on Channel 4, Glamour Puds. This programme is dedicated to his love of desserts. In addition to his public appearances, he runs the Cake Boy shop in south-west London; a retail outlet, but it also boasts a very popular cookery school. The London Word caught up with him ahead of the release of his second book, Home Baking.

What is your background in producing food?

‘Ever since I was a child I wanted to make cakes. I trained in Brittany and did my apprenticeship in Quemper. During my national service, I was a pastry chef in the navy and we toured around a lot of places, spending a lot of time in America. After those two years, I was offered a job by the well known restauranters Albert and Michel Roux in London. I thought it would be a good place to learn and study English for a year. And then that year became five years and I have ended up staying for 21 years.’

Your book is called Home Baking. Is this where you first learned to cook?

‘Yes, that’s right. My parents were not the best cooks. They didn’t have a lot of time to spend on food as they were always very busy. But at the weekend, they made an effort to have a good family meal with everyone sat down and enjoying amazing food. My dad used to drive to the local patisserie and that was my inspiration, the concept of the shop, with everything laid out in such a beautiful way.’

What is it about pastries and cakes that attracts you over other dishes?

‘For me, it’s the decoration and the presentation that goes into making cakes that makes them special. It’s not that I have a sweet tooth, I have never had a sweet tooth but it’s the work and finishing that goes into the cakes. My parents tell me that when I was going through the cookbooks, I would always try and attempt the most complicated recipes. I would be making marzipan flowers whilst they were struggling with the basics.’

You moved to London 21 years ago. Why?

‘I was offered a job here and it seemed to be the perfect place to learn English. I only planned on spending a short time here but it’s now my home.’

You run the Cake Boy baking school. What sorts of people do you find enlisting?

‘It’s a real mixture of ages and genders. We get housewives, house husbands and a lot of young people coming in. They do cooking as a past-time and want to learn something new and a few specialities.’

You’ve been here for over 20 years. What changes have you seen in the culinary scene during that time?

‘Since I’ve been here, there have been some amazing changes. Everything has become a lot more specialised. When I first came here, I was shocked at the standards, everything was done using very old fashioned methods. For the first couple of weeks, I just keep thinking, “I’ve got to get out of here”. But I stayed on and started changing things and the improvement over the past couple of decades has been amazing.’

Where do you live in London?

‘I live in between Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common. It means that it’s very useful for getting to work in the morning.’

What do you like to do to relax?

‘I like to eat, I like the theatre and I enjoy entertaining friends. I have a modern house and it’s fantastic for having nice dinner parties. When I go out to eat I like going to local restaurants. I am normally quite tired after work so I don’t go to places where I have to dress up and wear a tie. I’m just very lucky that this side of the river, there are some fantastic local places to go and eat.’

Eric’s book, Home Baking, is published by Mitchell Beazley and costs £20.