A few umbrellas are blooming on rue Danielle-Casanova, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, this Wednesday morning.
At a corner of Avenue de l'Opéra, a queue of around fifty passers-by is revealed, gathered together, under the raindrops, facing a white and gold storefront, stamped with a logo and decorated with a name .
The one that everyone hopes to see and whose work continues to generate reactions on social networks: Cédric Grolet, crowned “best pastry chef in the world” by the British 50 Best ranking in 2018. This Wednesday, the culinary creator is opening his second address in its name in Paris, an eponymous café where only takeaway is offered.
“The concept is very simple.
We worked around coffee and the American side with cookies and croissants and donuts, begins the manager, pink Air Jordan sneakers on his feet and matching sweatshirt.
Here, I wanted something a little more open to the street.
This is why the windows face directly onto the street and why you get your coffee to go.
In my other store, on the Opera side, on the other hand, the coffee is on site with the crockery and table service.
»
Paris IIe, February 7, 2023. Cédric Grolet presents his cookie pizzas.
LP/Maxime Ducher
As the minutes pass, the line welcomes new fans.
The first has been patient for more than four hours.
Maxime, a 27-year-old trained pastry chef, was already present in 2019 for the opening of his favorite chef's Opéra boutique.
“I've been a big fan for a very long time.
I opened the Opera in 2019 where I was second even though I arrived at midnight.
It’s my revenge for being first today to open the café,” he rejoices.
To be so well placed, “I arrived at 5:30 this morning,” continues this gastronomy enthusiast.
I had planned this because I stopped by last night around 9 or 10 p.m. to see if there weren't already people there.
» Behind Maxime, Alexandre, second in line, arrived at around 7:30 a.m. “I knew I wouldn't be first but Cédric Grolet is my favorite pastry chef.
It was very important for me to be a little part of history,” emphasizes this 33-year-old violin teacher.
A family photo of the star pastry chef's team, and the precious sesames will be within reach of the envious.
“What's great about an opening is that all the teams from each store come together and we try to do our best to make it perfect on the first day,” emphasizes Cédric Grolet.
So we are stressed but super excited and happy to see the people who are still there.
» To keep his fans waiting, the pastry chef does not hesitate to leave his setting for a distribution of freshly prepared hot chocolates.
“I want to try the whole menu”
If this new brand is located just behind the emblematic Cédric Grolet Opéra, it is not by chance.
“All the laboratories are in the basement and the goal is that our artisan bakers and pastry chefs can work continuously.
With the purchase of this store, we managed to join our two laboratories between Opera and the café, explains Valentin, director of the two brands.
We always remain as a team, very united, so we need to be close to each other to be able to continue to transmit the energy, the Cédric Grolet brand and the craftsmanship that we make, and therefore we could not go further than here.
»
9:30 a.m. sharp.
The doors are finally opening to happy patients.
Discover an intimate and refined place.
The white marble of the order reception contrasts with the cut stone in the side walls.
Maxime comes forward and confides: “I want to try the whole menu, I will get it for around sixty euros.
» On his receipt, the amount is correct to the nearest euro.
But his status as first customer gives him the right to leave with his order without paying a single penny.
Paris IIe, February 7, 2023. It costs 35 euros for an eight-piece pizza cookie.
LP/Maxime Ducher
" I'm very happy.
I was not excpecting that at all.
I told myself that at worst, there would be a few goodies but this is honestly really good news, enthuses the young man.
I took a box with the five croissant-doughnuts, the box with the pizza cookie to taste all the flavors and a
flat white
for coffee.
»
“He is very touched by what people think of his cakes”
Known for his “crazy” creations, according to the director of his stores, and extremely viral on social networks, the best pastry chef in the world 2018 is nonetheless sometimes criticized, particularly for the price of his culinary works.
“Networks are networks, there are good and negative but that’s part of the game,” puts Cédric Grolet into perspective.
Today, what we do, we do it with the heart and we see that the customers are still there after ten years.
»
Also read: Cédric Grolet’s “snowman” Christmas log sparks questions and taunts on social networks
Valentin, the manager of the Opera and the Cédric Grolet café, has worked with the chef for three years.
“He is very touched by what people think of his cakes, his coffees, he is very attentive to them and that’s why we like working with him.
His human values are extremely important,” he insists.
Second in the queue, Alexandre will leave with a signing of his book from the famous pastry chef, when Maxime will have had the opportunity to exchange a few words with his idol.
The rest of the enthusiasts, still gathered in the rain, console themselves with samples of pizza cookies offered by the café manager.
While they are also waiting for their selfie, while Maxime is already planning to go and taste Grolet delicacies “soon” “in London and then in Singapore”.