Jamie Cahill has wonderful article in this weekend's Financial Post called Let them eat leopard-fur éclairs



Boulanger Bruno Solques is a renegade. The lopsided, squashed berry tarts at his Paris boulangerie defy the rigid standards of traditional French pastry, where symmetry and presentation are of utmost importance.

“It’s sad to have a row of identical cakes,” he says. “It’s boring.” On the conventions of patisserie establishments, he says: “I know all the rules by heart, but I don’t want to follow them.”

Solques isn’t alone. A wave of classically trained patissiers are rejecting tradition and infusing creativity into one of France’s most revered gastronomic institutions. Whether it’s decidedly unfussy tarts, international influences or unexpected ingredients, these chefs are putting personal stamps on their pastries – and on the profession.

A few blocks away from Solques’ free-form cakes, the pastries at Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki are, by contrast, feats of geometric precision. They may look conventional but hardly taste that way. A fusion master, Aoki’s melding of Japanese art with French tradition has won over Parisians, starting with their beloved millefeuille. To build his version of the vanilla slice classic, he whips macha (green tea powder) into pastry cream, creating the millefeuille macha, one of his most popular items. Aoki adds Asian flavours to other creations, like sesame in flans or sweet red bean paste layered on feuilleté pastry.

For the truly adventurous, Right Bank patisserie Pain de Sucre specialises in offbeat sweets. Owners Didier Mathray and Nathalie Robert delight in surprising customers with new tastes such as their amertume, a brioche with endive and orange marmalade, beer mousse and crumbed candied chestnuts, or their tatigala, an almond pastry crust with praline cream, quince pulp, caramelised apple and rosemary.

The shop has a cult following for its marshmallows, prominently displayed in tall glass jars in the window. These bear no resemblance to the crusty, stale variety you may remember from childhood: instead they are melt-in-your-mouth clouds of delicate flavours such as fleur d’oranger, chestnut and honey, or saffron and green tea.

Perhaps no one is pushing boundaries more than 38-year-old pastry chef Sébastien Gaudard at Delicabar café in the chic Bon Marché department store. Gaudard turns the concept of a traditional French meal on its head, giving desserts prominence on his menu and mixing savoury and sweet selections. He pairs a savoury green vegetable consommé, for example, with a sweet soup of chocolate and spiced apples. Diners can also indulge in a creamy egg custard sabayon au chocolat or rich sabayon gratiné with Comté cheese and potatoes.

For the rest of the article go to FT Weekend Arts and Letters....