Macaron maestro Herme named world's best pastry maker Pierre Herme was crowned best pastry chef Monday by the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" classification. Known for elevating macarons into an artform, the larger than life creator, the fourth generation of a family of master bakers from the Alsace region of eastern France, started out not liking the delicate French specialties at all. "I found them too sweet," Herme -- who dreamed of being a cake maker since he was nine -- told AFP. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES