His wedding cakes start from US$23,500. Meet the pastry chef who caters to the ultra-rich

Competing for attention with Jennifer Lopez is no easy task. But at a recent wedding in India where the American star performed in a barely-there sparkly leotard, it was arguably the cake that stole the show. The towering multi-tier construction, several metres high and inspired by Rajasthani architecture, became a talking point among guests and featured prominently in media coverage of the 500-guest extravaganza in November 2025. Its designer was French celebrity pastry chef Bastien Blanc-Tailleur, whose creations are to cakes what haute couture is to fashion: one-off, handmade and requiring extraordinary investments in time and money. “We rarely work on a wedding that has a budget of less than €1 million,” says the 34-year-old in his studio outside Paris, surrounded by five of his latest edible sculptures. The marriage ceremony of US-based billionaire heiress Netra Mantena and tech entrepreneur Vamsi Gadiraju in Udaipur, India, cost a reported US$6.7 million, with J.Lo said to have pocketed US$2 million for her appearance. Blanc-Tailleur declines to reveal prices, saying only that his most modest custom-made cakes start at €20,000 (US$23,500) and the elaborate signature pieces can cost multiple times that. The Indian order comprised five cakes in total: the main creation with tumbling orchids, elephants and dome-shaped pavilions in white sugar paste, two for the families and a pair lowered from the ceiling. They took an estimated 3,500 hours of work. “We probably hit the top limit of what we’re capable of,” Blanc-Tailleur says. “It was one of the projects that I’m the most proud of.” Blanc-Tailleur’s artistry, which he says draws on French traditions dating back to the 1700s that spread to Britain and America, depends on the patronage of wealthy clients. Middle East royals, wealthy American scions and European aristocrats compete for his limited services: with a full-time staff of 10, he only produces about 20 to 25 cakes a year. The US and Israeli attack on Iran, which has sparked a regional conflict encompassing much of the Middle East, has upended the well-laid plans of some of these customers. “Lots of weddings have been pushed back to next year or the year after,” he says. “Several clients who were going to get married in Israel or in Lebanon or in Saudi Arabia have changed and are going to get married in France instead.” In the eight years since he started his business, he has had other challenges: the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as problems transporting and finishing his fragile cakes at the ultra-VIP castles and hotels that serve as venues. Logistical issues at the Indian event last November meant Blanc-Tailleur faced a last-minute dash to source eggs and butter for the cake’s base. “Right up until the last minute, we were not sure we were able to deliver the project in the best way,” he explains. On another occasion, an overzealous customs official in Saudi Arabia opened the specially designed boxes used to protect the cakes in transit, but neglected to close them properly, causing damage to the icing. Blanc-Tailleur started as a baker’s apprentice before, still in his twenties, rising into kitchen management jobs at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, and the team of celebrated French chef Yannick Alleno. He says he retained a key lesson from Alleno. “He used to say that when you’re thinking about a project, you shouldn’t think about how you’re going to do it. Otherwise, you limit yourself in the creative process,” Blanc-Tailleur recalls. His designs are drawn by hand on white card – he disdains AI and ultra-realist renderings that remove the joy of discovering the final product. A compulsive collector – of butterflies, seashells, stones and carvings from flea markets – Blanc-Tailleur estimates he has about 2,000 to 3,000 different moulds to help make prototypes and the final icing mouldings. “The flowers are the bit that takes the most time,” he says, with roses, orchids and even hydrangeas made with hand-sculpted layers of icing to match a mood board provided by the wedding planner. With so much energy-intensive work and international travel – he attends the weddings of most of his clients – Blanc-Tailleur has little time for himself. “I’ve been engaged for four years,” he confides, with no date set for his own marriage.

His wedding cakes start from US$23,500. Meet the pastry chef who caters to the ultra-rich

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Bastien Blanc-Tailleur’s cakes are one-off, handmade and pure show-stoppers – just expect to pay a minimum of five figures for one

Bastien Blanc-Tailleur’s cakes are one-off, handmade and pure show-stoppers – just expect to pay a minimum of five figures for one