In Nice, luxury pastries multiply like hot cakes. Anywhere in the city. In the Carré d’Or, in the old town, in the lower part of Cimiez… Boutiques with a minimalist design, both in the interior design and in the displays, have been opening for a few months. We trim, we make it lighter, smaller with cakes like jewels in the end that we could put under a crystal dome or on a pedestal like unique jewels. We stay babe…
Who are the bosses of these bonbonniers who have earned the class badge? Why are they settling in Nice? What gourmet message are they trying to spread? Three confectioners-jewellers tell their story.
1. Jonathan Rochetin: He’s cute
Jonathan the Pastry Chef, 14, Avenue Maréchal-Foch. The boss is Jonathan Rochetin, 35, from Nice (same neighborhood) and… Osteopath! “To finance my studies, I worked in a pastry shop.” And fodder won over bone marrow. “I passed my pastry shop CAP and then set up a cabbage bar in full fizz in that area.” The bar, miniature, is animated by four to five people. Live in front of customers. From the corner or elsewhere. Young, old, wounds, lambda consumers follow each other behind the window. “Everything is done here. We produce all day long. The cabbage is prepared every minute.” Not Herr Jedermann’s cabbage. A small flattened ball that tickles the taste buds. “We’re on a cookie chou, a cracker chou that gives a different texture. Inside, the flavors aren’t classic: matcha and lemon, mango and lime.” Other specialties include the vegan version with praline cloud (praline mousse, lemon heart, vanilla whipped cream, vanilla biscuit) or the flourless, pavlova version, consisting of meringue, tangerine cream, vanilla whipped cream, tangerine. Jonathan focuses on innovation: “The idea with these new brands is to move pastries in a much sexier way, with an intimate atmosphere, less common products and new flavors depending on the season. We want to dust off, stand out by revisiting the classics of French pastry.”
2. Philippe Tayac and the nomadic millefeuille
2. Philippe Tayac: Nice straight to the heart, in emotions and parts. (photo Chr.) nice morning
Vanilla Flan from Papua. Exotic pavlova, taste kaleidoscope of mango, coconut, pineapple, passion fruit, vanilla. Scrat tart in homage to the Ice Age squirrel, hazelnut praline and milk chocolate killer. A millefeuille. Mixture of gianduja and hazelnut. Philippe’s little Madeleine but redesigned. Filiform size. “A millefeuille fit for street consumption.” Modest sized cakes placed on stylized and recyclable cardboard. Your price: 7 euros per piece. Dear? “Each cake has between 7 and 8 elements and it takes twice as many people to make them.” Sixteen employees in total. Philippe Tayac adds more to this argument: “Classics revisited in terms of structure, appearance and taste. Little sugar and fat.” The recipe for “Creating and sharing emotions”. With Nice at heart. Because, despite his Indonesian eyes and hair, this handsome young man of 31 is from Nice. He studied at the Lycée Paul and Jeanne Augier. And after an experience that began in 2013 between Bora Bora, Saint-Barth (Eden Roc and Cheval Blanc), Courchevel, Château Saint-Martin in Vence as a pastry chef, Philippe Tayac had only one desire, only one dream: to return to Nice and himself settle there. Since December 2021, between 15, rue Maréchal-Joffre and Cap 3000. With one basic ingredient: “to offer high-end”. All along the line. Pastry as a container. “We are more dependent on the jewel and the suitcase. We want to challenge customers to make them push open the handle marked with a palm tree that is as beautiful as it is exotic, to rediscover luxury.”
Here this reduced luxury, no frills, topped by soft lighting, is also available with a stone counter from the quarries of Verona, a floor made of mineral blocks covered with fossils and a geometric wall bookcase that merges with the ceiling bring from space. The foodie profile? “Around forty years old, but the biscuit baked every minute with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is also very popular with young people.”
3. With Gaël Moutet, a taste from elsewhere
3. Gaël and Sara Moutet: chic Asian trends in the heart of Nice’s old town. (photo Chr.) nice morning
He is from Oise. She is Italian. Gaël and Sara Moutet met in Spain. As simple as her pastry creations are in demand. Since Christmas, her shop at 7 rue du Collet, in the heart of Nice’s old town, has been a bubble of light. Jewelery for fine palates is hidden behind the showcase. Matcha roll cake, pistachio mango eclair, panghor (coconut biscuit, jellied pineapple coulis, coconut mousse, ivory chocolate), bolobao (passion cabbage), kow loon (black sesame mousse, clementine garnish, black sesame biscuit, clementine cream)… Again, it smells like luxury and distant countries.
Pastry cap in hand, Gaël, 39, conjured up ideas from Hong Kong, Toronto and Kuala Lumpur. where he worked Why Nice? “Our last experience in Malaysia lasted three years. Without being able to move because of the pandemic. Very difficult. We wanted to see Europe again, get closer to Italy for the family, the sea, the climate, and Sara often came to spend his vacations in Nice, so…” He and his wife understood the interest in the chew jewelry niche very well: “Abroad we are looking for fine, aesthetic pastries, like a luxury product. We returned to France, the trend was already up to date. You should also know that there is competition in confectionery just like in gastronomy.” So you have to surpass yourself. In luxury, yes, but not only in terms of appearance: “The raw materials are fresh, seasonal, organic, regional, the dyes are natural. remains artisanal.” A subtle alchemy to be found. Étienne, a regular customer, listens, smiles, agrees, puts his icing on the cake: “It is beautifully presented, made with great taste, the creations are displayed in an airy manner. We’ll keep an eye on it right away. It’s a little bit haute couture.”
Haute couture and her attention to detail: “The Beauvais flan, says Gaël, I bake in a wooden circle. It is better. All coulis are made cold because the heat destroys the molecules and flavor.” More than recipes, a melting philosophy…