Takunori Hirayama
Duo Pâtisserie & Café | Thornhill, Ontario
October 2019
Takunori Hirayama loved baking sweets as a child in his native Japan, so when he saw an advertisement for pastry school while in high school, he knew he had found his life’s calling. After graduating with a degree in pastry, Hirayama began his career as a chocolatier at a bakery in Osaka, learning as much as he could from the head pastry chef. He also worked in the pastry department of the Ritz-Carlton in Osaka.
Hirayama then moved from Japan to Canada, settling in Thornhill, Ontario outside of Toronto. He began working as a pastry chef at Duo Patisserie & Cafe under Chef Eric Chan. There Hirayama specializes in chocolate, combining Chinese flavors with classic French technique to create menu items like matcha and mandarin-yuzu bonbons. He dreams of one day returning to his hometown in Japan and opening his own shop to spread happiness through the power of chocolate. He will be representing Canada in the North American semi-final of the Valrhona C3 competition.
