Paris Pâtisseries :: State of the Choux’nion Address
By Paris Patisseries in General Blog Posts
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Who knew bingeing on pastry for months on end could be so fun? Even when I hatched this plan to photograph and inhale a multitude of these treats each day, from the fabled pastry shops of Paris, I thought it might get a little boring after a couple weeks. Au contraire! I’ve come to love the “simple pleasures” of walking home from Ladurée every morning with a bag of fine breakfast viennoiseries and then jaunting off to Aoki, Rêves, or a legend like Hévin for a 4 pastry lunch. And the feeling of then walking into Pierre Hermé at 3PM and shamelessly asking for my afternoon candied rose croissant? It’s unparalleled. So today, as my giveaway winds down and I near the two-month mark in Paris, I wanted to share some reflections on what I’ve learned about the Parisian Pastry scene.
The biggest takeaway is that the variety of patisseries is unimaginable. While the average pastry fan might be able to name ten or fifteen popular types, the 50+ reviews I’ve posted on the blog so far only scratch the surface. There’s something for every taste and even more for tastes you never knew you had. To experience the breadth and opulence of Parisian pastry is to change your whole way of thinking about what constitutes a great snack or a perfect end to a perfect meal. With a cuisine-focused culture, France is an amazing incubator for talent – talent that can change how you see and experience something as basic as what you eat. With millions of tourist dollars pumped into the pastry shops alone, the Parisian scene is able to subsidize more great patisiers, pursuing unheard-of levels of perfection and creativity, than would be possible anywhere else in the world.
Through many missteps and dashed hopes, I’ve come to see that the true legends are actually few and far between; there is a pastry elite. Well-regarded shops like Dalloyau, Lenotre, Gerard Mulot and Stohrer are truly 2nd or even 3rd string. They’re like the Godiva of pastry; well-known, yet favorably regarded way beyond what their quality merits. If you’re chasing the fantasy ideal, keep this short list on-hand: Carl Marletti, Sadaharu Aoki, La Pâtisserie des Rêves, Pierre Hermé, Pascal Caffet, Ladurée, Jean-Paul Hévin, and Pain de Sucre. While dozens of other shops might have a piece or two that compete at the upper echelons, it’s those few patisseries that turn out varying combinations of creativity, brilliance, and technical excellence. Yet the spread within that group is wide.
Carl Marletti, La Pâtisserie des Rêves and Sadaharu Aoki operate in the stratosphere, where the chefs’ true obsession with pastry shines through. Carl Marletti is a deity of details: flavor, texture and the intangible. Rêves is a true dreamland of pastry design and construction. And Aoki takes your palate places you never knew it could go. They are untouchable. Hermé is not far behind, but his reliance on flavor gimmicks is cloyingly immature. Pascal Caffet and Ladurée are like the workhorses of the group, creating excellent, yet rarely stunning, pastry at almost every turn. Jean-Paul Hévin has a very narrow range of pastry offerings that rely almost completely on his expertise in the subtlties of chocolate. While not that dynamic or of continued interest to most, his mastery could make a true chocolate connoisseur weep. And bringing up the rear is Pain de Sucre, a highly experimental shop that’s still getting its footing after 6 years. Their clumsy command of flavor and texture is frustrating, but when it comes together, the results can be magical.
In the few weeks I have left in Paris to enjoy the wizardry of these pastry giants, I’m doing all I can to sweep the pastry cases of those Elite 8. They will be the focus of the blog from here on out, with sporadic features on the work of other shops. Many of the pastries I’ve had from the lesser establishments, while photographed and chronicled like everything you’ve seen from me so far, are of such low quality that I’ve decided to omit them completely. Blog entries will continue to be daily, with only a weeklong hiatus soon for my vacation to Florence. Once I return to the United States at the end of July, I plan to do two entries a week, but there will be some other special content.
Many readers have asked me to post photos of the shops or to supply lists of top pastries. Your wish is my command. Every few weeks, you’ll get exactly that and more. There’s even a private session I had with one of the legends, where he crafted two of his classics in front of the lens just for us 
And what happens when I’ve run through all my reviews, shop features and lists? Guess . . . . . . If you’re thinking, “You’re going to return to Paris next year and do exactly the same thing, except crazier!” then you couldn’t be more right. Not only are there hidden jewels to uncover, but there are Michelin-rated restaurants everywhere here, and I’m more than a little resourceful when it comes to getting behind-the-scenes access.
For now, keep enjoying the pastries, and know that so much of the most over-the-top and mindblowing work I’ve uncovered hasn’t even been posted here yet. All good things in time. -PP
