OLDEST BAKERY IN PARIS

When you think about Paris, I know one of the biggest things that come to mind is the patisserie! So of course I was going to track down the oldest one I could find! I stayed in the pretty place of St Germain at a quaint little hotel, with a balcony overlooking the busy streets below. I took a metro ride over to Les Halles, where the baker in me was free to run wild. I was pleasantly surprised at how pedestrians to the streets were. You could see people running in and out of bakeries to get their morning bread, while others browsed market stores in front of shops.

"Pastry chef to Stanislas Leszczynski, former King of Poland, Duke of Lorraine, and father of Marie Leszczynska, future wife of Louis XV. He is the creator of the rum baba, a legendary recipe born from a kugelhopf deemed too dry by Stanislas, which the pastry chef soaked in Tokay wine (rum was added later) or Malaga wine, according to differing accounts." - Stohrer

Upon walking into the bakery, the smell was just intoxicating. If you love butter, France is the place for you to be. Everywhere I looked, the place reminded me of a castle with all the fine art details on the walls.

For the pastries themselves, there were so many shapes and flavours to discover, and some desserts had really interesting blends of flavours in one item! I found out through visiting a different bakery that my favourite patisserie made use of praline or other candied nuts.

"Nicolas was a visionary in the way he went about his work as a pastry chef. When he set up shop on rue Montorgueil, he brought a modern vision to his commerce by offering chou pastries in a wide array of forms. He was also the first to bring together under the same roof different skills and techniques that were separate trades before: pastry making, of course, but also confectionery, cake-baking and wafer-, waffle- and spiced-bread making." - Stohrer

I was immediately drawn to a praline and nut filled dessert, along with a complex looking choux pastry bun tower with little caramelised sugar caps on each mini bun. I had to do the traditional thing and buy a croissant and a baguette as well! Which made for a nice lunch paired with some salted beef and goats cheese in the Luxembourg gardens, a stone's throw away from the Orangerie gallery. Everything I got really did get a 9 out of 10 to be honest! The croissant was classic, the lamination of the layers inside was light and flavourful, then even the piece I brought home still tasted amazing.

The tarte vanilla pecan was of course my favourite as I'm loving nut desserts at the moment. I could eat another one today just from looking at the photo again while writing this. Make sure if you're in Paris stop by this delectable bakery!

Happy historical eating! T x