In a kitchen brigade, there's one person who has the final say. Not the one who decides on service or the rush: the one who decides on the meal. Karthik Balaji is the pastry chef of the restaurant The Rosebud, the table of theHotel Jeu de PaumeIn the hamlet of Lavancher, just a few minutes from Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, he arrived from India five years ago with one goal in mind—to learn French pastry—and today he creates the desserts for a restaurant awarded the title of Maître Restaurateur and the Écotable label. We met with the pastry chef of our restaurant in Chamonix.
Karthik Balaji, in a few words
Karthik Balaji, our pastry chef of Indian nationality, came to France 5 years ago to learn French pastry making.
Calm and creative by nature, he likes to combine colors and flavors in his desserts.
In his free time, he enjoys hiking the trails of Chamonix. Through baking and his hobbies, Haute-Savoie is now his beloved region.
Five years, a vocational certificate, and a lot of patience
French pastry-making isn't something you learn in a summer. Karthik Balaji started with formal training: he earned a professional certificate in pastry in 2019 from the Whitecaps International School of Pastry in India, where he learned the fundamental techniques—creams, doughs, and precise baking. Then he did what everyone who truly wants to learn a trade does: he went where it's practiced every day.
In France, he started at the bottom. First as an intern. Then as a kitchen assistant for nearly two years, scrubbing countertops as much as plating dishes. Finally, as a pastry chef, since 2024. This long and winding path has left its mark: a sense of organization, mastery of HACCP hygiene standards, inventory management, and the ability to control the freshness of raw materials. Skills that are never noticed from the dining room, and without which no dessert would ever reach the table.
Three languages, and a fourth that is not spoken
Tamil is his native language; he's bilingual in English and learns a little more French with each shift. In the kitchen, that's more than enough: a brigade's vocabulary consists of just a few words and a lot of gestures. You demonstrate, you taste, you repeat. Karthik is calm by nature—it's the first thing people say about him in the restaurant—and that quality is worth more than all the words in the world spoken at a piano during the rush.
His signature: combining colors and flavors
Ask him what interests him in a dessert, and he'll talk about combinations. Not just flavors: colors. His dishes are often built around a palette—the greens of a dessert with cucumber, Granny Smith apple, genepi liqueur, and fir, enhanced with a lace tuile and a few dots of tangy gel—then the contrast arrives through texture rather than an additional ingredient. Crunchy versus creamy, frozen versus warm: that's where the effect lies.
This is a restaurant pastry, not a display case. It arrives after two or three courses, at a time when you're looking for freshness more than sweetness. The genepi and fir here aren't just decorative touches: they represent two flavors of the valley, those of the landscape you see through the dining room's bay windows.
A pastry shop that starts with the product
The Rosebud holds the title of Maître Restaurateur , a distinction awarded by the State which requires homemade cuisine from raw products, and the Écotable label , which evaluates the environmental commitment of a restaurant: sourcing, seasonality, reduction of waste.
For a pastry chef, these two requirements translate very concretely. They preclude shortcuts: no ready-made preparations, no out-of-season fruit from the other side of the world. They demand working with what the season offers—summer berries, autumn apples and pears, winter citrus fruits—and making it a strength on the plate. Sustainable development in product selection is explicitly listed among the skills that Karthik Balaji champions: it's no coincidence that he found his place in this establishment.
Le Jeu de Paume is also awarded the Green Key label for all of its hotel activities. Discover our environmental commitments.
After the service, the trails
Le Lavancher has this advantage: the trails begin at the end of the road. Whenever he has time, Karthik goes hiking—the northern balcony, the Aiguilles Rouges , the paths that climb towards the Argentière glacier. It is probably there that we should look for the origin of his ranges of green and his resinous aromas: a pastry chef always ends up putting the landscape he travels through onto his plates.
He came to France for a technique, but stayed for a place. Five years later, Haute-Savoie became his home region — and his desserts, one of the signatures of Lavancher.
Frequently asked questions about the Rosebud pastry chef
Who is Karthik Balaji, the pastry chef of the Jeu de Paume ?
Karthik Balaji is the pastry chef at Le Rosebud restaurant, in the Hotel Jeu de Paume, in Lavancher near Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Of Indian nationality, holding a CAP (vocational certificate) in pastry obtained in 2019 from the Whitecaps International School of Pastry, he came to France five years ago to learn French pastry. Having worked as an intern and then a kitchen assistant, he has been a pastry chef since 2024.
Where to enjoy these desserts in Chamonix?
At the Rosebud restaurant, at the Hotel Jeu de Paume705 route du Chapeau, in the hamlet of Lavancher, in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (74400). The restaurant is open to hotel guests as well as outside visitors, by reservation.
What style of desserts does The Rosebud offer?
Restaurant-style desserts, plated and crafted with seasonal ingredients, with a strong emphasis on color and flavor combinations: cucumber and Granny Smith apple, genepi and fir, summer berries, sorbets and airy biscuits. The menu changes with the seasons.
Is the Rosebud a socially conscious restaurant?
Yes. The restaurant holds the title of Maître Restaurateur, which guarantees homemade cuisine prepared from scratch, and the Écotable label, which distinguishes restaurants committed to responsible sourcing, seasonality, and waste reduction. The hotel is also certified with the Green Key label.
How to reserve a table at the hotel restaurant Jeu de Paume ?
By phone at +33 (0)4 50 54 03 76 or by email at contact@jeudepaumechamonix.com. The restaurant menu is available online.
Reserve your table at the Rosebud
Explore the restaurant menu and Karthik's desserts, at Rosebud, the restaurant at our 4-star hotel in Lavancher, a stone's throw from Chamonix.
+33 (0)4 50 54 03 76 · contact@jeudepaumechamonix.com · jeudepaumechamonix.com
