GET TO KNOW: REMCO BRIGOU

We’re super excited to have Remco Brigou, trained chef/ pâtissier and chocolatier of Koko Black, on our Chef’s Hub. We sat down for a chat about his career so far, and his favourite ingredients to use in the kitchen.

Hi Remco! It’s great to have you with us, Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

My Name is Remco Brigou, I am originally from Belgium but I now live here in Melbourne for 8 years. I am a trained chef/ pâtissier and chocolatier but I build my career in chocolate. Over my 14 year career I worked in a lot of different chocolate productions of which a couple I started up my self. I currently work for Koko Black in Melbourne where I am head of Product Development. We are a proud Australian company that has 15 stores all around Australia. We are a contemporary Australian chocolatier so my challenge is always to reinvent the way we make our chocolates but still stay true to traditions.

If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing?

Before I went into Hospitality, I always wanted to become a camera man to shoot Nature documentaries. I love Nature and I love traveling so I figured that would make me see the world in a very special way.

Name a career highlight in your journey so far.

I’ve got plenty of highlights, I started up the chocolate production for a new store in South Melbourne before I came to Koko Black. That was definitely a highlight because I had a lot of freedom there to find my own style. Since I work for Koko Black I had plenty of Highlights too. Probably the Biggest one was our Collaboration with Dan Hunter Because it made me learn and understand a whole lot more about Native Australian ingredients and it opened a whole new world of exciting flavors for me.

In terms of local produce, what are you loving right now?

For the Moment I am looking a lot into a lot of different honeys. There is so much varieties and such a big choice of different flavours that are fun to play with and create different recipes.

What’s your favourite native Australian bush food to cook with and why?

There are too many to choose from, Strawberry is definitely one of them because it is such an interesting flavor that pairs very well with chocolate. I also like Davidson plum a lot too. I am a big fan of strong flavors and the Davidson Plum is that. The extreme sour taste may scare some people but I think it is interesting to work with. If you dilute the sour a bit you discover a unique flavor that you can pair with a lot of flavors.

Tell us something else that people might find interesting….

Chocolate is so much more than the big brands you find in the Supermarkets, don’t be afraid to go out and discover some quality chocolates and a whole new world will open up for you.

You can compare the amount of flavour differences with good wine. Depending on where the chocolate comes from you will have a completely different flavour profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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