Europe calling

With the opening of new boulangeries and patisseries in Pune in the past few years,the city is witnessing a new European food trend

It’s nine in the morning and before facing the morning rush hour,the working professional stops at the local boulangerie to pick up his favourite croissant or bagel for breakfast. This isn’t a scene from some French movie in Paris,rather,this is an increasingly common sight in Pune.

With several boulangeries and patisseries opening in Pune in the last five years,the city is witnessing the rise of a new food trend. A boulangerie is any place that sells fresh bread,while a patisserie is a bakery that specialises in French pastries and cakes. Both words are French and imply a European concept of relying on stores for different kinds of breads and dessert. While Pune bakeries do offer breads and pastries,boulangeries and patisseries offer European specialities like cheesecakes,mousse,gateaux and foccacia.

Forennte Patisserie,which opened three years ago in Koregaon Park,is very popular for its chocolate eclairs,the Ferrero Rocher cake and the Red Velvet cupcakes. Owner Namrataa Kripallani says,”Earlier people were happy with simple and familiar food but now they travel the world and are curious to experiment. For example,when I first opened my store,people didn’t know what the Red Velvet cupcake was. Now I have people lining up for them!” The patisserie also makes foccacia,bagels and baked cajun-spiced nachos. Amongst their bread section,their chicken-swirled bread and jalapeno rolls are also well-liked. “What’s important is to keep bringing new things to the table and keep innovating so that customers can try more breads and desserts,” adds Kripallani.

Ambrosia Patisserie opened in Chandni Chowk around four years back and owner Mahua Narayan is now looking at opening more branches in the future. “While people knew only chocolate and blackforest cake before,now they want to experiment with different flavours. What has also made a big difference is that eating outside is not just about the main course anymore. People are also more willing to travel to find a cheesecake or a mousse that’s just right for their taste,” explains Narayan. Ambrosia’s popular products include caramel custard,tiramisu and various seasonal cheecakes.

The most recent entrant in this sector is Bouchee d’Or,a boulangerie located on Boat Club Road. This quaint French-style bakery is owned by Frenchman Brice Poisson and his wife,Rohena Gera. Poisson bakes all the products in the store himself and says that his decision to open the boulangerie was more about his passion for French food than about the growing market in Pune. “We are lucky that Pune has embraced the authentic taste of France! I don’t Indianise anything and people seem to appreciate that,” he adds. Co-owner Gera adds that looking at the rising popularity,they plan to open earlier in the moning. Some of their specialities like almond croissant,the rye bread,multi-layered chocolatecake,fruit tarts and their ‘Framboiser’,a special raspberry mousse are a hit with foodies.

Older restaurants in the city,like Sweet Chariot,which also offer similar products,are also raising their bar and are introducing new offerings. Sweet Chariot director,Shivjeet Benadikar says,”Pune people are getting westernised and increasingly preferring baked products to traditional ‘mithai’. We started out with 10 – 15 orders of cakes and pastries in a day and this number has now gone to over 100 orders per day,so this is definitely a rising trend.”

Similar baked products are offered in the city at The Patio in Aundh,Flourworks in Kalyani Nagar,London Muffin Bakery in Korgaon Park and The Cake Shop at M G Road,amongst others.

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