“Masks on!” directs City of Dreams Executive Pastry Chef Christophe Duvernois, brandishing a chrome airbrush nozzle. “I’m painting with red cocoa butter.”

Christophe’s target is a large, heart-shaped plastic mold. The cocoa butter will transmit its red hue to the chocolate which will be added later, and also prevent the chocolate from sticking.

“Many chocolatiers still use paint brushes to tint their molds, but that can be tedious,” says Christophe. “Airbrushing is much quicker. And a lot more fun!”

He pulls the trigger and a red jet of atomized cocoa butter streams forth. In a matter of minutes, Christophe paints a whole stack of heart molds. It does look like fun. A lovely pink mist hovers about him.

“Christophe,” I say. “That’s something only a pastry chef gets to experience. You’re standing in a cloud of red cocoa butter.”

“I love my job.”

“Love is in the air.”

In Chef Christophe’s kitchen, for Valentine’s Day, love takes many beautiful and delicious forms. From a pot simmering on the stove, he ladles dark melted chocolate into one of his red-tinted heart molds. He spreads the creamy liquid around, covering every inch of the mold, and then pours off the excess, leaving only a thin layer of chocolate, which will harden into a heart-shaped shell. Two of the shells placed together will form a hollow chocolate heart.

Christophe’s plan is to fill each chocolate heart with a payload of bite-sized red lips. The lips are made with a ganache of yuzu-infused white chocolate and caramel. Just imagine getting one of these for Valentine’s Day. Nibbling at the big chocolate heart, you find that you can eat a doorway into a secret interior, where you discover an improbable but wonderful surprise: edible red lips. Bite a pair of bright red lips and savor the white chocolate and the caramel and the surprising tart yuzu. Somebody definitely loves you.

Hoping to sample one of the yuzu-chocolate lips, I wander towards the cold room were they’re stored, but Christophe calls me back and over to another station.

“Here we’re making red caramelized almonds,” he says, tipping a large bowl of the nuts into an old-fashioned copper kettle. “Very popular at this time of year.”

The heated kettle rotates slowly on a tilted axis, keeping the almonds tumbling and roasting evenly. Small pots of red syrup bubble away on a nearby stove. When Christophe pours the first pot of syrup in with the almonds, the sweet scent that wafts into the air is wonderful beyond words.

“This is what I love about being a pastry chef,” he says. “It never gets boring. There’s always something fun to work on.”

“And don’t forget,” I say, popping a stray pair of sweet lips into my mouth, “always something delicious to eat.”

Every fifteen minutes Christophe gives the almonds a stir and adds another pot of red syrup. The almonds grow bigger and lumpier with each new layer of sugar until they begin to resemble little pink moon rocks. After a final coat of sweetness, he upends the kettle and the confections rattle out onto a tray to cool.

While I use a spatula to spread the almonds around so they won’t stick together, Christophe goes to work on a tray of pommes d’amour—apples of love. Dipped into a red sugar glaze and coated with crushed pistachios, these candied apples are a popular Valentine’s Day treat in France.

Surveying all the mouthwatering options in Christophe’s kitchen, I try to decide which treat my wife might like best for Valentine’s Day. One of those chocolate hearts filled with sweet lips—that’s a true showstopper. Sugared almonds—I know she loves those. A pomme d’amour—no way I’m leaving without at least one. And over there, I spy a raspberry mousse cake decorated with a red sugar rose—yes! I’ll give her one of everything. Why not? If she can’t eat it all, I’ll be there to help.

Christophe is a man of few words, not the type to boast, but his precisely organized, smoothly functioning kitchen, and the profusion of beautiful confections he and his team produce, all speak volumes about his talents. His creations are going to make a lot of people exquisitely happy this Valentine’s Day.

Inquires for City Café: (853) 8868 6697

By Jean Alberti

Photography by David Hartung