I’m preparing myself to embark on a journey making what is widely considered to be one of the most difficult pastries in the world to make.

I have been working tirelessly perfecting my croissant dough with some amazing results.

I have successfully made the Canalé from Bordeau on more than a few occasions.

I have even undertaken the precise and finicky French macaron successfully, though I do need to make some improvements. The macaronage is still my nemesis.

Even the daunting puff pastry is just another walk in the park for me now.

One pastry though scares me to the point of nah, it’s just easier to buy one. But if I hope to be an instructor in the art of baking when I retire from my current job I must improve my skills. I can do that with the challenge of the sfogliatelle.

This is a “lobster tail” from Gastromia Italia here in New Westminster.

It’s a great little shop selling Italian products. The selection isn’t as big or as varied as Ciofi’s or Bosa but it’s only a 5 minute walk down the street for me so I go there when I know they have something I need.

It’s a good opportunity to start my research before I attempt to make sfogliatelle myself. I’ll be in Italy in a few weeks and will do lots more research there.

I’m not sure if they make them here from scratch. But based on the crispiness of the layers I am pretty sure they bake them here. They put different fillings in, today it’s a chocolate cream. It sure was tasty.

However that’s not the traditional filling you’ll find in Italy. That’s a semolina/ricotta filling flavored with citrus. I’ll have an opportunity to try that in Italy I’m sure.

And then when we return I’m going to give making them a go.

Unitl I am more familiar with the Sfogliatelle though I am sure happy with this version.

Hopefully the ones in Italy don’t spoil it for me.

8/10

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Anyone who knows me knows I’m a foodie.

Good food is definitely my weakness.

So when I found out that there is a local pastry chef who specializes in Pannettone getting my hands on one wasn’t even an option.

The genius and talent behind Antise is Emmidio, a highly trained pastry chef from Italy. Though my brief description does not do his CV justice. To get the full story visit their website.

Antise

One does not just pop into Antise to pick up a Pannetone. They don’t have a storefront in the way you normally think of.

You have to pre-order online. Then a week later you go during a 4-hour window to pick it up.

As I’ve only ever had a traditional pannetone, I decided to try out their chocolate version.

Very nice presentation. High quality packaging.

So we have the traditional pannetone dough, but with chocolate chips rather than the raisins and dried fruit.

The chocolate version is a little richer than I’m used to. Pannetone is already very rich, what with all the butter and sugar in it. But they add lots of high quality chocolate, making it even richer. There’s also a chocolate spread on the top. Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.

Moist, buttery, chocolatey goodness. Very addictive.

Pro tip: Eat this with a big glass of cold homogenized milk.

At $50 each this isn’t something you’re going to order often. But at a 10/10 it’s a nice treat to have once in a while.

Next year, I’ll try their traditional Pannetone.

The post Antise Vancouver appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

There isn’t much notable about the backwater that is Vanderhoof, BC.

It is the geographical centre of BC. Whoop-dee-doo.

There is 4346 people living here according to the 2021 census. But that’s down 88 from 2016. From what I hear the city council is actively anti growth. And doing a great job at it.

I mean if you’re an outdoorsy kind of person I guess there’s stuff to do here. Only problem is it’s winter 9 months of the year.

There’s just not a lot going on here.

But what if I told you there was a fantastic Belgian bakery here?

Go figure. In the middle of absolutely nowhere there’s an excellent bakery.

We ended up being here for about 3 hours so I had lots of time to peruse and sample the offerings.

From what I can buy looking at everything in the case I would say most things are made in house.

There does seem to be some strudel that looks like it’s a commercial product but I also see some strudel that might very well may be made here.

And I highly doubt that they make their own macarons. They look just a little too perfect and I know how difficult they are to make. But you never know they may have a perfectionist in the house.

But I do see a lot of good looking and quality product here.

So let’s get to it.

Long John donut.

Of course the most important thing about donuts is freshness. And this was very fresh. Not the prettiest donut I’ve seen, still very yummy.

8/10

Napoleon

Thin layers of puff pastry, vanilla custard, whipped cream and all ripped off with fondant icing

Do you like them fresh like me, with the layer still crispy? Or a day old one the moisture from the custard and cream soak into the pastry and make the whole thing custardy?

Mine was fresh, perfectly crispy, with great flavour. One of my favorite pastries. Often mediocrely done. This one was great.

9/10

Cinnamon Knot

This is essentially a bite sized cinnamon bun, with a cinnamon sugar glaze. Not something I’ve seen a lot in the last couple of decades. It would be nice to see it make a comeback.

They also had Florentines. No picture, they got a little broken in my pocket. Nice though. A crispy and chewy candied almond and fruit cookie with chocolate. Very nice.

8/10

Fresh Fruit danish

I love a good danish. Put some custard and some fresh fruit it gets even better.

At first I thought they might be brought in. But no they make them in house. Buttery, flakey layers with a delicious custard and fresh berries. Perfect combination.

10/10

So in the end there’s one good thing about Vanderhoof.

This bakery is great.

Actually I guess there is one more good thing about Vanderhoof.

You do get to leave.

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Over the last few decades grocery stores have moved farther and farther away from in-store produced baked goods to premixes and mass produced products from centralized factories. There’s certainly been some health and safety concerns driving that decision. Donut fryers being a perfect example. Nasty business getting burned frying doughnuts. But have you tried a grocery store donut lately? It’s fu**ing terrible.Economics play a role in this move as well. It’s expensive to have a bunch of journeyman Baker’s working in your store. And certainly there are efficiencies from mass producing product in one location for many retailers.Technology is improving and there are some products that are actually quite good. There are some fine all butter croissants and Danish to be had from your local grocer. But the fast majority still are not professional baker quality products.This has opened the door though for the small bakery to make a comeback and we’re seeing more and more of them pop up around the Greater Vancouver area, much to my applause. I wish I was a bit younger with more energy and could open my own Bakery. Far too old for that now though. But I can use my knowledge and expertise from 36 years in the industry to figure out some of the better options for higher-end baked goods in the city.

Chez Christophe is a professional bakers wet dream.

These delicacies were tried over a few visits, and there will be more. This bakery is that good.

Fruit topped Financier.

Most often found as a small, gold bar shaped cake, a Financier is make from butter and almond flour. Its usually very moist, allowing even a two day old cake still moist enough to be enjoyed.

This fantastic version is covered with fruit and nuts, similar to how a fruit tart would be presented.

10/10

Pain au Chocolate

Just look at all those layers of flakey, buttery goodness. Of course the true appreciation is the skill and technique that goes into making croissants.

10/10

Trio de Chocolat

Three different chocolate mouses, white, dark and milk. All excellent. Though what elevated this was the chocolate crumb on top. It made some excellent chocolate moves into a fantastic eating experience.

Tart au Citron

A light, tangy lemon curd on delicious wafer. The lemon curd struck the perfect balance between sweet and sour, and was light enough not to feel like it was too much.

10/10

Tiramisu

A lovely modern take on the Italian classic. Rich and creamy with the chocolate layer giving a nice textural component.

9/10

Mabgo Chocolate

A chocolate mouse done with a mango mousse inside, the nango flavour was surprisingly intense. And a beautiful complement to the dark chocolate.

8/10

Homemade chocolates. Ok this is where I can really get into trouble.

At about $2.50 each you can’t exactly be gorging yourself on these.

But what a delight. I’m not going to list all the flavors but here’s a photo of the chocolate legend.

The 9 piece box

While all were delicious, the Tom Collins and the Champagne Grapefruit stood out to me. High quality chocolate with extraordinary fillings, ones you won’t find elsewhere. I mean come on, a Gin chocolate? Fantastic!

10/10

Its been four visits so far, every one an great experience.

Next time your in North Burnaby it’s definitely worth your time for a stop in. There’s nothing here to disappoint.

Oh ya, they do coffee really well too.

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Or so I thought anyways.

The Canelé is a pastry from the Bordeaux region of France. Thought to originate in the 15th or 18th centuries from nuns who had a surplus of egg yolks because local wine makers used egg whites for wine clarification. It has a distinct ridged shape and is traditionally made in Copper molds.

In an effort to widen my baking skills a few years ago I purchased the required pan and ingredients and undertook the process of making these at home. It’s not a particularly difficult process, but there are some technical steps that need to be followed to achieve the desired result.

Since I had no reference point to assess whether I had achieved a successful attempt I have since been on the lookout for these pastries ever since. But you just don’t see them around very much. (Mine did turn out properly by the way.)

It is with that limited experience in finding them in Vancouver that I was very surprised to see a bakery dedicated to the Canelé at Granville Island.

Perhaps the pastry is not as unfamiliar to people as I thought?

I was especially surprised to see the variety of flavours they have at La Bise Bakery. There were at least 10 flavours on hand to choose from. I hadn’t even considered a Canelé with a filling before.

We are trying two today. First up the Lemon Curd.

Never mind the perfect Canelé, a crunchy exterior with a custard like interior, the lemon curd was lovely. That’s no commercial out of a bucket lemon filling.

We also tried the Pistachio cream.

The Canelé was just as good, but the Pistachio filling didn’t quite resonate with me like the lemon curd did. It was actually a bit bland.

At $6 each they aren’t cheap, but anything of quality isn’t these days is it?

Regardless, it’s really nice to see a traditional, old school pastry from Europe readily available here. The way the bakery industry is going we need more small shops like La Bise to hold on to the traditions and educate the masses on proper, traditional baking techniques.

9/10

The post La Bise Bakery appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

There’s certainly been some health and safety concerns driving that decision. Donut fryers being a perfect example. Nasty business getting burned frying doughnuts.

But have you tried a grocery store donut lately? It’s fu**ing terrible.

Economics play a role in this move as well. It’s expensive to have a bunch of journeyman Baker’s working in your store.

And certainly there are efficiencies from mass producing product in one location for many retailers.

Technology is improving and there are some products that are actually quite good. There are some fine all butter croissants and Danish to be had from your local grocer.

But the mass majority still are not professional baker quality products.

This has opened the door though for the small bakery to make a comeback and we’re seeing more and more of them pop up around the Greater Vancouver area, much to my applause.

I wish I was a bit younger with more energy and could open my own Bakery. Far too old for that now though.

But I can use my knowledge and expertise from 36 years in the industry to figure out some of the better options for higher-end baked goods in the city.

Today I am trying Beaucoup Bakery, located in the St Regis Hotel on Dunsmuir.

It’s bright and colorful inside and very much feels like your in a small patisserie in Paris. At least from my memories of the City of Lights anyways.

By the time I arrives, around 2:00 p.m, there wasn’t a ton of selection remaining. Of Bakery products at least. They had a much bigger wall for non-edible items available than they did baked goods.

I ended up choosing a Danish and a Butterloop.

What is a butter loop you ask. I had to ask myself that as well.So it’s essentially a Vol-au-vent shell made from croissant dough instead of a puff dough, with a vanilla mousseline (custard) and a peach jam inside.To me it was overfilled. The croissant dough was flakey, but the presence of too much filling made the overall pastry difficult to eat. It was just too much, too rich. Knock back the amount of custard and jam and you’d have a really nice treat.

I also had a Citrus Blue Danish.

Nice idea, poor execution.

The Danish was over baked. There was so much moisture gone it wasn’t even pleasant to eat. Had that been a pizza dough the chew would be excellent. Not on a Danish though. The citrus custard with a fresh blueberries was very pleasant, though the citrus flavour was very subtle. However it worked well with the blueberries.

My latté was excellent, the highlight of the visit.

Good espresso flavour, not burnt, proper temperature.

Unfortunately Beaucoup Bakery did not live up to my expectations today. I will come give it at least one more try though, perhaps it was just an off day for them. It happens.

6/10

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Even with the $13 fee Mello donuts are worth forking out for delivery once in a while.

But wouldn’t you know it, the strawberry cream version wasn’t on the menu today. Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t go all the way there.

The donut craving still called though.

Unfortunately Gourmet Donuts isn’t on Uber Eats.

But then I noticed La Miel Bakery and Cafe under the “donut” query, and wouldn’t you know it they also have a strawberry cream donut that looks very similar to the Mello offering.

That got my interest piqued. So like a kid in a candy store (that may be a more literal analogy than I care to admit) I ordered up a few treats.

And they all sucked in one way or another

Strawberry cream donut

The whole reason I ordered from La Miel Bakery and Cafe was this donut.

What a disappointment.

First the exterior.

I can’t quite figure out what coating the donut is dipped in. But whatever, it is is terrible

Sugar, Cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar:these are acceptable coatings.

Whatever it is imparted a soggy feeling to the donut overall. The cream filling was decent enough. But doesn’t make for the rest of it.

As I was expecting better, I had also ordered the mango version to try.

It wasn’t any better. Same terrible coating, same soggy feeling. The mango cream I scooped out had a nice flavour, but that didn’t make up for the overall unpleasantness of the donut.

There is no picture for it but I also got the Pistachio cream donut. Not gooing to bother trying it due to the last two varieties.

A Blueberry Buttercream Bun.

While it is a fresh, soft brioche style bun, I found the flavour of the fillings off-putting.

The blueberry filling they used is a commercial filling I know well from my years in the industry. Too artificial for my liking. Thats a Venetian creme decor on top, which isn’t the worst of the commercial fillings, but doesn’t compare to real custard at all. Best thing I can say about it – it was fresh. One in my life will do.

Then I had a chocolate covered Madeline.

I had high hopes for this. I love Madelines.

A Madeline is a small lemon flavored cake, light and airy.

Well it supposed to be anyways.

This was dry and crumbly with no lemon flavour at all. Clearly stale. I don’t know, maybe I’m just too picky after 36 years in bakeries. I wouldn’t send that out myself. But the chocolate was good.

So that was $36 dollars well wasted.

And one bakery I know I don’t need to visit again

1/10

Shoukd you want to try some of their products yourself you can find their website here:

https://le-miel-bakery-cafe-mr-paris-fresh-bakery.menu-world.com/

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First impressions; a cross between Eggbomb+ and Paris Baguette.

They have a selection of baked goods you can choose from and also a sit down restaurant that you can order from a menu.

Not much is appealing to me here.

We ended up getting a couple of pastries and the Salmon Benedict.

Our pastries:

Normally I’d be all over that puff pastry. But that’s a savory one. Tomato and basil. Ok ya it’s fresh. But that is not a combination of flavors I like in a puff pastry. I’ve had it in a scone and that was okay but this just did not work for me. Merilynn was ok with it though.

That other pastry is Financier.  The picture doesn’t do it justice but that was burnt. Like way burnt. Not even close to being presentable. The cake was dry and you can actually taste the burnt flavour.

I do make these at home. I know what they should be like. One of the reasons why I like this little cake is because it is so moist. And it actually stays moist for a few days. This was completely unacceptable.

Whoever thought it was okay to put that out should have a talking to.

The latte was good, perhaps just not quite warm enough. And they did a pretty design on top.

We also shared a Salmon Benedict.

I think I need someone to explain to me what it is exactly that’s going on here.

Am I the only one that thinks fruits AND veggies dusted with icing sugar as a garnish is a little strange?

I’d say the presentation is lovely but that is a piece of broccoli right there. And brussel sprouts. Sitting right beside a strawberry.

My inner Gordon Ramsey is screaming “you donkey” right now.

As for the meal itself, once I got rid of the vile weed on my plate it was quite tasty.

The eggs were done right, the Hollandaise was good and the brioche bun a rather acceptable substitute for an English muffin. The salmon could definitely have been seasoned better and perhaps a minute less on the grill. Overall not too bad. Just a really weird combo on the plate.

As with any first time visit to a restaurant we make, as we wrapped up our meal I considered our experience and asked myself would we come back?

In this instance, while it was not a complete fail, the answer to that question would be no.

There are better options for this style of dining.

And Jim’s Cafe is just a few doors down.

4/10

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So we made our way to Paris Baguette today with high hopes.

Heck my first visit our here

I’m not sure if this is a usual thing but we didn’t notice a lot of the same items on display. This leads me to believe they do rotate their offerings from day to day.

I’m skipping the baguettes and did get a fruit puff pastry again.

Happily it was as good as the first time I had one.

Also in the picture is a cream cheese danish, which was excellent. Nice layers with a delicious cream cheese filling topped with almonds. A modern, better version of a butterhorn.

As Merilynn gravitates to the savoury flavours she grabbed a Crab croquette.

As Dave Portnoy does with pizza, we only needed one bite of this to know neither of us cared for this.

And we both love crab.

It just didn’t sit well with us.

I’m going to assume (for economic reasons) it’s fake crab, which always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The batter of the croquette wasn’t enjoyable either, it was very bland.

We both had vanilla lattes and they were very good.

So other than the crab croquette, Paris Baguette lived up to our first impressions.

We will be back.

7/10

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Well, while it may be inspired by the French, it’s actually Korean. Merilynn has been to some of their locations in Korea.

I was surprised by how many people were here. Yes it was a Sunday but this is a brand new building with not easy access. But it was packed. Usually a good sign.

Cinnamon twist donut

This took me back 20 years to my early days as a baker. I don’t see this type of donut around much anymore and even less often a good one. Double thumbs up.

Fresh Fruit pastry

A nice flakey puff dough with custard and look at all that fruit. It was quite nice, though I think the custard isn’t made in house.

Ham and Cheese croissant

Beautiful big croissant that was very flakey with massive crumb. Very nice. We should have brought two.

Butter Pecan donut

Fresh yeast donut with lots of butter pecan filling. A little too much filling for me personally but I would guess most people wouldn’t complain about that.

The flavour combination worked well. The butter icing was really tasty.

And yes I did buy a baguette.

They only had about 5 for sale though. It’s more a pastry shop than a bagetteria.

This is my bruschetta on their baguette.

It was fine, but I do prefer a thicker baguette for Bruschetta. Better to hold the toppings.

We both had iced vanilla lattes. Which were good, but we had ordered hot ones. I guess they can’t get everything right.

Is Paris Baguette worth a visit?

Absolutely yes. For the pastries and the coffee.

I’ll go somewhere else for a baguette though.

8/10

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