Sabrina Allard stands out from other Parisian chefs, if only because of her background: while completing her history degree, she initially considered pastry making to be a personal hobby rather than a career. Originally from Reims, she arrived in Paris at the age of 23 and worked in various establishments while preparing for her CAP (vocational training certificate). Then she made the bold decision to strike out on her own, and it was in the 20th arrondissement, a rather anonymous neighborhood where there was a lack of artisanal pastry shops, that she found a location.
In her charming shop, Sabrina works at her own pace, with just one employee, Camille, and no communications team. She aims to offer responsible pastries made with seasonal ingredients and no artificial colors. The raw ingredients are carefully selected: flour from Moulins Bourgeois in Seine-et-Marne, butter and cream from the Borniambuc dairy in Eure, and Nicolas Berger chocolates. For her fruit, she seeks out young producers at markets. So that anyone can afford her cakes, regardless of their income, she tries to make her pastries as accessible as possible. Her business works in synergy with the neighboring bakery Le Bricheton, which offers sourdough bread made with ancient flours.
She appreciates simplicity: like her mentors Claire Damon and Claire Heitzler, she does not seek to invent revolutionary structures, but rather to execute everything perfectly. Although she says she also likes bold flavors, we find that she shows great subtlety in her use of aromatic herbs such as rosemary and tarragon, and her favorite herb, sweet clover, with its aromas of cut hay, vanilla, and tonka bean, which gives her flan an incomparable taste. The interplay of textures is also subtle, as in the rhubarb cabbage garnished with a creamy rhubarb sauce, a light ganache, and rhubarb pickles. As for her fresh fruit tarts, they are exemplary, such as the greengage tart.
And, as expected, word of mouth worked and the cakes spoke for themselves. It may seem idyllic, but not everything is rosy in the world of haute pâtisserie, and Sabrina confides that the job is very demanding, physically hard, and that preparing for the Christmas log and galette season is like training for a marathon… much to the delight of customers, who are unaware of these sacrifices and are growing in number.
