Chilled sweets manufacturer Monteur, based in Yashio, Saitama, is releasing two new collaboration products supervised by Chef Koichi Izumi of ASTERISQUE in Yoyogi-Uehara, Tokyo. The "Choux à la Crème Chocolat & Custard" and "Éclair Caramel Salé" will be available at select supermarkets from June 1 (Monday) to July 31 (Friday), 2026.
Chef Izumi has earned numerous accolades at domestic and international competitions, including third place overall at the World Chocolate Masters 2005. This collaboration combines his philosophy on flavor layering and pastry theory with Monteur's long-cultivated manufacturing techniques, creating premium sweets designed to bring a touch of the extraordinary to everyday life.
Choux à la Crème Chocolat & Custard
This cream puff features two layers: a chocolate cream made from Belgian chocolate paste and house-made ganache, paired with a rich praline custard blended with almond praline, Tahitian vanilla, and Hokkaido cream.
A dedicated custard was developed exclusively for this collaboration to bring out the best of both the chocolate and the egg richness of the custard while achieving a harmonious flavor. Aromatic almond praline and rare, florally fragrant Tahitian vanilla (using 91% vanilla) are incorporated, creating a deeply scented custard. The nutty depth of the praline custard and the refined sweetness of the vanilla combine with the rich chocolate flavor to deliver a layered and complex taste.
The pastry shell is piped with a decorative pattern and baked to create a textured surface, lending a sense of elegance befitting a chef collaboration. A small amount of salt and brown sugar is incorporated into the dough, drawing out the umami of the shell and complementing the flavors of the cream.
Suggested retail price: 237 yen (291 yen in Okinawa)
Éclair Caramel Salé
This éclair layers a rich salted caramel paste made with Alpen Salz rock salt over a deep custard cream, finished with a coating of caramel-flavored chocolate. The balance of saltiness was carefully adjusted to highlight the presence of the caramel while still bringing out the sweetness and flavor of the custard. The gentle saltiness and slight bitterness of the caramel accentuate the sweetness and richness, delivering depth and a lingering finish.
Suggested retail price: 237 yen (291 yen in Okinawa)
About Chef Koichi Izumi
Chef Izumi spent many years as head pastry chef at Salon de Thé Cerisier in Chofu, Tokyo, placing third overall at the World Chocolate Masters 2005. In 2006 and 2008, he competed in the World Pastry Team Championship across two consecutive tournaments, earning second place overall and first in the Chocolate Showpiece category both times. In 2012, he opened ASTERISQUE in Kami-Hara, Shibuya, Tokyo. He has since devoted himself to coaching competition competitors and serving as a competition judge. In 2024, he was admitted to the prestigious French organization Relais Desserts, which gathers the world's top pastry chefs. In January 2026, he took second place at the Trophée International de la Pâtisserie Française.
ASTERISQUE website: https://asterisque-izumi.com/index.html
Chef Izumi commented on the collaboration:
"I was drawn to Monteur's sincere approach to product development and their commitment to ingredients and manufacturing methods, which led me to take part in this collaboration. Many people have enjoyed Monteur's sweets throughout their lives. I believe that by combining Monteur's accumulated expertise with my own approach to pastry, we've created something new that could only emerge from this collaboration. We paid careful attention to how to bring out each ingredient's flavor, how to combine them, how to create cohesion as a whole, and how to highlight the qualities of cream puffs and eclairs respectively. Monteur went through countless rounds of trial and error to achieve a sense of specialness and quality at an accessible price. I hope many people enjoy it."
Sales Details
Sales period: June 1 (Monday) to July 31 (Friday), 2026
Sales regions: Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chushikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa
Note: Some stores within the listed sales regions may not carry these products.
