A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to check out Cedric Grolet’s new pastry shop at le Meurice. You’ll have to forgive me for not writing about it earlier, but I’m glad to be able to share these pastries now.
Cedric Grolet has become a bit of a darling in the pastry world. His cakes are fairly unique in that they’re not overly sweet: stripped down to the essentials, his pastries use sugar as a seasoning, much like savory chefs use salt, allowing the core ingredients – fruit, herbs, nuts, chocolate – to shine through.
His desserts are also quite beautiful, and it’s their beauty – as well as the masterful technique that goes into them – that’s at the core of this new shop just steps from the Louvre.
Associating art and pastry is nothing new in France: in fact, one of the pastry chefs who was instrumental in developing the world of French pastry as it stands today, Marie-Antoine Carême, believed that pastry was part and parcel with architecture.
Grolet’s new shop, then, is as much gallery as it is an open door into the workshop of an artist. Here, both passers-by and customers can watch as a team of expert pastry chefs concoct some of Grolet’s masterpieces.
(It also helps that the aromas are out of this world.)
I had the chance to sample several of his pastries, and this apple was one of my favorites.
Beneath that candy-red shell is an apple mousse and a filling with real cooked apples. It’s not overly sweet; instead, it really just evokes the essence of apple.
Nutella fans will also love this hazelnut pastry, containing a hazelnut praline, hazelnut ganache, hazelnut cake, caramel, and chocolate.
Of course, there are many others to sample, including cookies and tarts, as well as more trompe l’oeils. Next time you’re near the Louvre, check out the new offerings – Grolet is constantly innovating, and I for one am excited to see what he comes up with next.
La Pâtisserie du Meurice par Cédric Grolet – 6 Rue de Castiglione, 75001
Some photos care of le Meurice, Pierre Monetta