Bakeries are feeding a craving for 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 creations.
Boulangerie Marcel in Lyon, Les P'tits Fr猫res in Montpellier, P芒tisserie 脡lodie Serres in P茅lissanne, Alexandre Boulangerie in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, P芒tisserie Julianne in Reims and many more have added 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 to their portfolio of pastries.
罢谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 in pastry-making is designed to disguise the taste of a product in the form of an object or shape, similarly to its purpose in interior design or architecture.
Bakers often choose to mimic fruits but more sophisticated ones reproduce household items or common objects.
鈥淚t is the latest trend in the industry. It is attracting everybody, from mothers who want to make their children happy, to onlookers,鈥� said Elodie Serres, chef at P芒tisserie 脡lodie Serres.
Ms Serres opened her bakery last May and has received positive feedback from clients so far.
She bakes eight different sorts of 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒, the most popular being a lemon and a mango. Ms Serres sells about ten of each type every day, ranging from 鈧�5.5 to 鈧�7.
Chocolate trompe-l'oeilAnne and Julien Gueucier
Fruits are popular p芒tisserie trompe-l'oeilsAnne and Julien Gueucier
鈥淰ery delicate and excellent cakes, bravo! We have found our high-end pastry shop in P茅lissanne,鈥� wrote one client in a review. 鈥淭his message in particular makes me really proud,鈥� she said.
Ms Serres is not the only one reaping the fruits of success with 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 pastries.
No茅mie Daunay, the 27-year-old chef of ND P芒tisseries in Montauban-de-Bretagne is selling around 1,500 of them each week with prices ranging from 鈧�6 to 鈧�7.
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罢谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 are selling out in record time across bakeries, many newspapers report.
鈥淭he negative effect of selling them too quickly got us worried at one stage of our development. You could see the disappointment in clients鈥� eyes when we told them we had run out,鈥� said Anne Gueucier, the owner of P芒tisserie Julianne.
Ms Gueucier and husband Julien Gueucier, a baker with 25+ years of experience, opened their bakery in Reims around 18 months ago. They found success immediately, she said, with clients sometimes driving from as far as Roubaix or Belgium for their 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒.
The trend was initiated by C茅dric Grolet, the 39-year-old executive pastry chef from Parisian restaurant Le Meurice, whose popularity skyrocketed thanks to an active social media presence featuring his 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒.
He reigns so supreme that newspapers often write 鈥�trompe-l鈥櫯搃l, fa莽on C茅dric Grolet鈥� (bake it like C茅dric Grolet) in their headline. Ms Gueucier agrees that the bakery鈥檚 success is partly built on a 鈥楥茅dric Grolet effect鈥�.
His Instagram account is followed by 12.7m people and he has opened bakeries in locations including Paris, Saint-Tropez, Singapore, London and soon Monaco. His 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 are among the most expensive, from 鈧�15 to 鈧�18.
Mr Grolet regularly takes videos of himself baking products inside his Paris shop, where tourists can be seen filming him from the other side of the window. Other videos include partnerships with companies, models, actresses and actors.
This is how No茅mie Daunay did it as well, posting a video on TikTok and rapidly reaching 300,000 views in no time. Clients queued in her shop the following week.
The same goes for P芒tisserie Serres. It was actually Ms Serres鈥� 15-year-old daughter who convinced her to open her pastry business after she scrolled through Instagram and saw 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 everywhere on her feed.
鈥淢y daughter wants to study marketing,鈥� said Ms Serres. 鈥淚 think she has a future in this field.鈥�
The many openings and developments around 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 also means increased competition across the country. P芒tisserie Julianne was the first bakery to offer 迟谤辞尘辫别-濒鈥檕别颈濒 across town.
鈥淭hat was 18 months ago. We are no longer the only ones in Reims,鈥� said Ms Gueucier.
A tiramisu cake in the shape of a hyper-realistic cappuccino
