Mandarin Oriental Tokyo (Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo) will begin accepting reservations for Christmas cakes at its directly managed patisserie, "Gourmet Shop by Mandarin Oriental Tokyo," starting November 1st.

This Christmas marks the first Christmas presented by Lionel Bodrus, who was appointed Executive Pastry Chef in April 2015. After training at the five-star Hotel Le Bristol Paris in Paris, Lionel took up a position as pastry chef at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Greece, where he won the title of "Greece's Best Pastry Chef" for two consecutive years. He has also since been appointed Executive Chef of the two-star restaurant Amber in Hong Kong, earning acclaim around the world.

At a press event held on September 2nd prior to reservations, Lionel revealed, "Everything I've seen while working around the world is my source of inspiration," and treated the press to a selection of his signature cakes. First up is the "Fraise de Luxe Amaou Limited Edition" (18,000 yen), limited to 50 pieces. This premium shortcake is made with a generous amount of large, bright red Amaou strawberries, and features a rich sponge cake made with plenty of egg yolks, a perfect combination of carefully selected fresh cream and fruit. "Fraise de Noel" (15cm 5,600 yen, 12cm 4,600 yen), which also combines high-quality sponge cake and fresh cream, is a well-balanced shortcake made with lots of strawberries. It is a classic yet luxurious treat. "Beurre de Noel" (6,000 yen), a square cake covered in deep red velvet, is a highlight, as it contains a variety of hidden flavors such as white chocolate mousse, strawberry jelly, hazelnut dacquoise, and jellyfish. "Violet" (5,000 yen) features the light texture of rich blueberry cheese mousse made with cream cheese and the refreshing tartness of blueberries, and its chic and elegant appearance will have you enchanted right away.

"Bohomme de Neige" (8,000 yen) is a cute snowman-shaped cake that is sure to please even small children. It features a mousse made with lavish premium dark chocolate that has a distinctive orange-like scent, combined with the fresh aroma and tartness of mandarin orange.

The five types of cakes will be on sale from December 1st to December 25th.

In addition, Christmas season limited items such as Stollen (S 1,600 yen, Chocolate Stollen S 1,800 yen, L 2,800 yen), Panettone (1,000 yen), Kugelhopf (S 600 yen, L 1,800 yen), and Père Noël (500 yen) will be on sale from November 13th.

All of the items are made with an abundance of high-quality ingredients and are handmade with love. Arranging them on the dinner table is sure to add a lot of happiness to the holy night.