Croquembouche: Traditionally served at French weddings, this is a tall cone of profiteroles (choux pastry filled with crème pâtissière) bonded with threads of caramel and often decorated with sugared almonds or chocolate. One key difference to note between a French baker and a pastry chef is that while pâtissiers work with mostly cold ingredients, a boulanger (or baker) will master the techniques and processes of warm rising dough. Learn more about traditional French baking in a specialised Le Cordon Bleu short course. What is viennoiserie? A boulangerie is a French bakery, as opposed to a pastry shop. Bakeries must bake their bread on-premises to hold the title of 'boulangerie' in France. While a boulangerie may also sell pâtisseries and viennoiseries, their main trade will be in traditional French breads, such as:

Last but not least, if there’s one thing I could tell you it’s that, if you’re a carb-lover, then you simply must take the time out of your trip to head into a French boulangerie, if only to sample a baguette, or at the very least, a croissant. French Boulangerie Vocabulary: And now, La Boulangerie Marguerite, or Marguerite for short. This business is the bakery version of a long-held dream of love and miracles and nourishment. We hope Marguerite delights and honors your meal-making and ritual celebrations with her pastries and breads -- in a way that is as sweet and delightfully inspired as her namesakes.If you’re a particular fan of baked goods, then you should also bear in mind that there are some baked goods and pastries which are only available in certain regions of France, aka regional specialities. In more rural locations, the boulangerie will also act at the pâtisserie! Pâtisseries denote both the type of establisment, as well as the goods sold within. Therefore, a pâtisserie will also sell pâtisseries. Some of these include the chic pattiseries in Paris of Pierre-Hermé and Ladurée. Mille-feuille: A dessert comprised of layers of crème pâtissière and puff pastry. The top is traditionally sprinkled with sugar, but is commonly seen finished with combed icing. A boulangerie is a bakery and a pâtisserie is a pastry shop, though most boulangeries and patisseries sell both various baked goods and desserts (pastries). As mentioned, any reputable boulangerie will sell various basic pastries, though it’s worth noting that there are some high-end patisseries which only sell desserts.

Baguette tradition is baked in accordance with a traditional recipe and tends to have a chewier crust and fluffier interior. This baguette tends to be 10-40 centimes more expensive than its cheaper counterpart but is more than worth the extra price tag in my opinion. For example, the Kouign-Amann comes directly from Brittany and, though it has grown in popularity over the past few years, is still harder to find outside of the Western-French region. What is the difference between a pâtisserie and a boulangerie?

Where French meets Vegan…

Brioche: A viennoiserie made in a similar way to bread, but with the richer aspects of pastry due to its high egg and butter content. Deux croissants et un pain au chocolat s’il-vous-plait : Can I have two croissants and one pain au chocolat please?

Creating pâtisserie requires training, at Le Cordon Bleu you will study classical techniques ( from basic to advanced) to learn how to create such delicate items. As many of the pastries are intricate, only a well-trained hand can execute them flawlessly.This habit greatly amuses me, though my boyfriend grew up doing this as it’s normal in France to eat the quignon of the baguette while it’s still warm. Among other France tips, normally people aren’t really formal in the shop and I tend to ask simply for the product with a ‘please’. Make sure you say hello (bonjour) when it gets to your turn in the line as this is seen as the polite thing to do when entering an establishment in France. Known as ‘boulangerie’ in French, you can expect to find all manner of ‘baked’ goods at a French bakery. The most common things, which are sold in all boulangeries, are various baguettes and classic pastries, which are known as ‘vienoisseries’ or ‘pâtisseries’ (both terms are translated into English as ‘pastries’).