“It has been my lifelong dream to live and work in Southern California,” said Chef Stéphane. “I came here in 2005 when I became Executive Pastry Chef for The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point. After four years, I opened The Pastry School in San Clemente, but this pâtisserie in SOCO will be my first in the United States. I am confident and excited about the public’s reaction to the amazing masterpieces we will be creating.”
St Pâtisserie Chocolat & The Pastry School will offer a rotating selection of sweets, showcasing seasonal ingredients, innovative techniques, and new forms of artistry. The first offerings will focus on Chef Stéphane’s interpretation of Paris-style macarons, chocolate truffles, éclairs, a special “built to order” tart, and traditional tarts with a creative twist, all made with fresh ingredients sourced from the SOCO Farmers’ Markets. The menu, which also includes coffee and hot chocolate, will rotate based on customers’ preferences, as well as what is fresh and seasonal. Chef Stéphane also plans to create a special, weekly, one-off cake, highlighting a new technique, presentation, flavor profile, or ingredient, which will be available for customers to view on Saturdays.
Considered one of the top Pastry Chefs in the world, Chef Stéphane is a master craftsman, an innovator, and a mentor to pastry chefs the world over. With decades of accolades, awards and honors behind him, Chef Stéphane continues to re-imagine the art of Pastry every day, leading the way for modern pastry internationally. He chose to relocate his pastry school to SOCO because he believes it is offering the best epicurean classes in Southern California – LCA Wine & Neptune School of Wine offers classes for sommeliers ranging from basics to master classes, and many bakers take Chef Stéphane’s classes when deciding to open their own bakery.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with SOCO (and, I’ll admit, I wasn’t), it is a premier interior design, culinary, event and boutique shopping center. Located in Costa Mesa just off the 405 Freeway, SOCO is easily accessible from all of Orange County and also makes it the perfect day-trip from anywhere in Southern California. For more information, visit www.southcoastcollection.com.
The design and aesthetic of the bakery and school encourages interaction with guests. The windows into the kitchen and adjacent school will be treated as performance areas, where Chef Stéphane and his team will create various pastries, displaying the level of intricacy and care involved in creating each work of art. The school will offer classes for students of all ages, and will also have classes catered to families, since that is a large part of SOCO’s demographic.
For more information on Chef Stéphane, please visit www.stephanetreand.com.
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I’ve had my eye on this mix for awhile. I never purchased it because I really didn’t have a reason to, other than curiosity. But, this weekend I found it on sale and curiosity won.