Originally from France (and yes, I do have a French accent), I embarked on a journey into the world of fine French pastry beginning in Nantes. For those who don’t know, Nantes is one of the largest cities in France and is located on western side of the country close to the Atlantic Ocean.
Through dedicated education and hands-on experience, I earned a Master’s degree in Pastry and Bakery. Soon after, I set my sights on London, where I joined the prestigious culinary team at Aubaine, a renowned French Restaurant-Bakery nestled in South Kensington. Continuing my pursuit of excellence, I ventured to Australia, refining and diversifying my skills with innovative techniques in Brisbane before making my way to work in Sydney.
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
In 2009, an exciting opportunity beckoned me to the bustling pastry scene of New York City as I took on the role of Executive French Pastry Chef at Falai. Over the years, I continued as an Executive Pastry Chef in various esteemed French restaurants throughout NYC.
After several years in NY, I realized that I wanted to be my own boss so in 2014 I decided to create my own culinary school, Atelier Sucré. We focus on teaching the art of French pastry making to enthusiasts through classes and workshops, as well as providing pastries to area restaurants and bakeries. I also conduct private lessons for up and coming pastry chefs who want to fine tune their skills and train teams at various restaurants and bakeries in the New York area.
As a trained pastry chef from France, I like to concoct exquisite desserts with a unique blend of flavors and textures. Creating a new pastry is always a challenge, but the excitement of presenting it for the first time to food-lovers, family, and friends is the driving force. I am most passionate about sharing my knowledge and expertise with everyone I meet.
For me, crafting artful and exquisite desserts with unique flavor combinations and textures is an absolute joy. Each new creation presents its challenges, but the thrill of unveiling it to others is what propels my passion. Above all, I am devoted to sharing his wealth of knowledge with everyone he encounters, spreading the love for French pastry far and wide.
Blending Science & Art
There are lots of misconceptions in the field of pastry. For instance, people assume that you cannot pair pastries and wine, but this definitely is not the case. My brother in Bordeaux, France is actually the head vintner (wine maker) at a vineyard, and I enjoy creating pastries that can be paired with his wines. We hope to do an event together later this year in New York.
Pastries are also very interesting as they blend science and art. The science is in the very specific measurements such as the weight of ingredients (no cups and teaspoons in pastry!), temperatures, cooking times, etc. The art is of course the blending of flavors, textures and colors to make something attractive to the eye and tasty for the mouth.
People have a much greater appreciation for pastries after taking the classes. They also believe that they can become a “master” at one thing or another in just a few hours. After a class, people understand how much time, effort and skill is required to make really good pastries. They are not as easy as they look!
Overall, I believe that New York is a great place for business opportunities, particularly in food and beverage, but it is also tough. I enjoy the challenges of creating pastries while also running a growing business.
I am thrilled that we recently opened our second location in Hoboken, New Jersey. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, it is just across the river from Manhattan and has some of the best views of the city! This was a long time coming because of covid and other business interests in the past few years so I’m very happy that we are open for business.
If you take nothing else away from this, I leave you with a bit of baking advice that I’ve used since my early days: Butter makes everything better!
Additional Classes by Atelier Sucré
Bake Your Own French Croissant
Introduction to Homemade Sourdough Bread