The nine to five of New York chocolate maker Mr Jacques Torres.

In terms of occupations, you can file chocolatier alongside astronaut and footballer as the kind of fantasy job we all dreamt of as children. But for Mr Jacques Torres, master pastry chef, chocolatier and founder of nine Jacques Torres Chocolate stores across the US, it is a reality. To coincide with Easter Sunday – and the obligatory chocolate eggs that accompany it – we asked the man known as Mr Chocolate exactly what it is like to be him. Spoiler: it certainly beats a desk job.

I have been doing this for more than 40 years. I did an apprenticeship, which gave me a great foundation. I entered a lot of competitions in Nice before I moved to the US. I was given the award of best craftsman in my profession in 1986 [the Meilleur Ouvrier de France for pastry], which is the highest recognition in my profession. I am an expert in what I do. I take it very seriously. It’s always quality first.

My approach to chocolate is the same as my approach to pastry. I never settle for mediocrity. My staff and I have a motto: real is my promise to you. I’m not claiming that we’re organic, or anything fancy like that. But I claim that we are real. We use real butter, real cream, no flavouring, no essential oils. Everything is real. That combined with quality means you get a good product.

I have an 18-month-old son, so I don’t have the freedom of waking up when I want. He wakes me up at 6.30am. I play with him and by 8.30am, I’m on my way to work. My store opens at 9.00am. It depends on the day, but I will either be in my office in Downtown Manhattan, the store or in the factory in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I am a chef, so I love to be in my factory. My office is very eclectic. I have a beautiful bottle of champagne in there at the moment. It was given to me when my TV show Nailed It! got a second season.

Usually I go from place to place on a motorcycle. In the winter, I have a heated jacket and gloves that connect to the battery of the bike. It gets cold in New York. If I go to the factory I wear chef’s clothing, or I keep it casual if I’m in the store. I love to do research and look into development. Now it’s Easter, it’s important that I work on making our Easter products faster and better.

I have to do a lot of tasting in my store. Admittedly, I eat too much sugar, but it is difficult because I am in the middle of it. My staff have to understand chocolate. If something is not right, then they let me know. When I’m tasting, I don’t look for anything in particular. I just want to think, wow. I want more. If the product doesn’t talk to you like that you have to change it. My favourite thing that we make is something called quail eggs. They are a beautiful colour and they are made with praline and peanut butter.

We make chocolate from cacao beans, which grow in our plantation in Yukatán in Mexico. The first step to the process is the roasting. Then winnowing, when we remove the shell from the nib [the inside of the bean]. Then we make the cocoa liquor. We have to grind the nibs into a paste. Then we mix it with sugar. Then refining and finally, conching. Then we temper the chocolate, mould it into chocolate bars and wrap them.

The thing I love most about my job is putting a smile on people’s faces. It’s extremely rewarding. I also love being in the kitchen and experimenting with new products and flavours.