This is possibly the most exciting thing to hit Paris all year.

Bérénice Leconte, formerly chef pâtissière at Gentle Gourmet (remember those incredible vegan macarons?) has just opened up her very own vegan pâtisserie Mecca.

This project has been a year and an Ulule campaign in the making, and Ann and I have been champing at the bit, imagining *that* moment when we could finally eat flan, brioche and fraisiers again.

Our patience was tested at VeggieWorld this spring, where Bérénice gave visitors a sneak peek into her creations. People flocked to her stand, and the entire stock sold out within a few hours. By the time we casually sidled up in the afternoon, ripe and ready for our tarte aux framboises, it was a no-go.

Zut!

I tried again in April, during VG Pâtisserie’s opening month. Only to find the shop completely cleaned out of the good stuff. They even shut up shop earlier than the allotted 7pm. Well there’s no point opening to the hungry vegan masses when you haven’t the wherewithal to let them eat cake.

Third time lucky. We took no chances and reserved our treats over the phone. Two each – that’s utterly reasonable, right?

Bérénice is an artist, a visionary. She has the fine palate of a haute cuisine chef (indeed, she trained as one), and talent and commitment in spades. Her pâtisseries are delicate, delicious and light. Since they’re both vegan and, for the most part, gluten free, they go down much more easily than your average cream-filled pâtisserie fare, always leaving space for one more. Which is handy, because as you’ll see, it’s pretty darn difficult to pick between the delectable creations.

Ready to see us getting a bit emotional over cake?

You’ll also meet the lovely Bérénice, who was kind enough to answer a couple of insider questions about her blossoming business:

In case we haven’t driven the point home enough, VG Pâtisserie is an absolute must-try.

Have you tried Bérénice’s creations? Which was your favourite? Leave us a comment below to let us know, so we have an excuse to go back and try your fave, heheee!

Love and strawberry pie,

Address:
123 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011 Paris

Opening hours:
Weds-Sat: 9am – 7pm
Sunday: 9am – 5pm