From frozen to fabulous
Old World Craftsmanship, New World Convenience
Pascal is schooled in the classical way to craft croissants but his recipe and methodology in creating a genuine artisanally-made croissant in frozen form, is entirely his own. This is referred to as retro-innovation: using old school traditional technique with new world inventiveness.
He apprenticed in the pastry arts under a master at age 14 and earned his Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP) in Muret, France in 1994. He continued his training in various capacities in France and Canada always with an eye to excellence in execution. Even under apprenticeship, he strived to make everything from scratch instead of using short-cut mixes and preparations customary in his industry. He is guided by genuine quality and driven by an obsession for how something actually tastes and is experienced by all the senses. His quest has always been for the individual who is looking for delight to find a small holy grail of pleasure on her plate.
“When everything that can be automated will be, being human becomes the ultimate differentiator.”
Tim Leberecht
Not Your Average Pastry
This type of pastrymaking is both an art and science and a specialized skill which takes time, trouble, technique, talent and intuition. To crack the code and maintain the exceptional quality and consistency through the frozen process so people can easily bake them at home is unique, convenient, delicious and downright pastry wizardry. Building upon his 30 years of experience, it still took months of experimentation in the Calgary workshop to get the recipe for the frozen version just right; taking into consideration the dry climate, the altitude and the vagaries of various flours’ and butters’ behaviour. Crafted from his original recipes in small batches, Pascal’s pastries are made with the best of local and international ingredients chosen for their exceptional taste and quality. After mixing, rolling and resting in different stages, pastries are individually cut, weighed and rolled by hand in the time-honoured tradition, then quickly frozen and vacuum-sealed to preserve them at peak freshness. Water has to be a certain temperature as does his workshop. He uses no eggs or milk in his croissant dough recipe relying on his own unique knowledge of how flour, water, yeast and time interact together in alchemical harmony.
Today most of these pastries made (in France and around the world) are industrially produced. Untouched by human hands and spun off assembly lines at thousands of croissants an hour, no wonder the art is being lost.
Fresh Philosophy
We believe the freshest pastries are the ones you bake yourself. To bake croissants in your own home where a French Pastry Chef dedicated to their expression has done all the heavy lifting, well, doesn’t that make you look like a rock star? People line up in Paris for fresh croissants that are still warm. But you can experience amazing croissants made with exceptional ingredients and craftsmanship warm from your own oven any time you want! Isn’t it fun to be part of the process, engaging all your senses in bringing your own pastries to life? And that aroma! Half the pleasure is smelling them bake as Pascal believes people eat with their nose! Fill your home and heart with the irresistible fragrance of freshly baked French croissants, creating unforgettable pastry moments at breakfast, brunch or any time.
The freshest pastries are the ones you bake yourself.
Our Pastries Love to Travel
Are you visiting family or friends away? Are you a snowbird? Wrap our pastries tightly with frozen icepacks and take them with you! (Those bendy blue ones work well.) If you’re flying put them in your checked luggage. It’s cold in the hold of a plane and they love that. If you need to bring them in the cabin with you, use a couple of bags of frozen peas instead as icepacks are not allowed in cabin.
If you’re driving, do the same thing, wrapping them tightly with their icepacks in your cooler. They’re OK out up to 18 hours but get them into the freezer as soon as you can at the other end. Baking time and temp may vary if you’re closer to sea level. Our croissants were born in good old YYC but our customers have brought them to Lethbridge, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Comox, Campbell River, Okanagan, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Denver, Portland, Florida, even overseas to France and Australia! All lovingly taken by our pastrylovers in their luggage; isn’t that adorable? We love to travel but for Pierre’s sake, our pastries have been way more places than us!
Zero Food Waste
The venture was born from the idea of the “Romance of France” and the desire to share the “simple pleasures” of the way pastries used to taste when Pascal was growing up. Our personal and professional value of stepping lightly on the earth is reflected in the medium of take and bake pastries with no food waste at day’s end. Because our frozen croissants and other pastries are smaller in their frozen state, we are able to use less packaging. The search has been ongoing from day one for a more eco-friendly alternative to our recyclable plastic packaging (one alternative we discovered had a minimum $1 million order!) If you are or know someone who is producing a greener option packaging that can withstand frozen temperatures available in smaller quantities, talk to us!
What makes us different?
The Flour.
The Frenchman.
The Freshness.
The Fragrance.
And You.