Pierre Hermé Did Not Want My Translated Titles!
Pierre Hermé Macaron: The Ultimate Recipes from the Master Pâtissier (Abrams; Translated from the French by Zachary R. Townsend) was first published in English in 2014, and I had the honor of serving as its translator. Even years later, I still consider it one of the most important macaron reference books available. Working on it meant immersing myself in Pierre Hermé’s exacting standards: his insistence on precision, repetition, and understanding the why behind every step. My goal as a translator was not only accuracy but also to faithfully convey his voice and methodology so that English-speaking readers could truly learn from it.
What makes this book endure is that it comes from the chef at the very source of the macaron’s rise as a global trend. The techniques, flavor affinities, and discipline it teaches are just as relevant today as they were when it was published. These are recipes you return to, refine, and grow with over time. The recipes and his flavor profiles are aspirational. I still reach for this book myself, and I genuinely believe it remains a foundational resource for anyone serious about mastering macarons and flavors.
I was actually thumbing through the book again recently, and it brought back a very specific memory from right before the book went to print. After reviewing the English translation, Pierre decided he didn’t want the recipe titles translated at all—he preferred that the original French names be restored. That meant a bit of last-minute scrambling on the publisher’s end, but in the end, they came up with a really clever solution. They reinstated the French recipe titles throughout the book, then added a dedicated page at the back listing the English equivalents. I still think it was a brilliant compromise—one that respects the integrity of the original French while still supporting English-speaking readers. Moments like that are a great reminder of how much care went into this book, and why it continues to feel so thoughtful and relevant all these years later.
The book still remains an "Editor's Pick" on Amazon, with a 4.6/5.0 star review out of 540 reviews