[Paris] Un Dimanche à Paris

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Un Dimanche à Paris

Add: 4 Cours du Commerce Saint-André, 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 56 81 18 18
Hours: [Mon] 12~8pm [Tue-Sat] 11am~8pm [Sun] 11am~7pm
Website: www.un-dimanche-a-paris.com
Price: €5~6/pastry
Visited on: Aug 2014

Un Dimanche à Paris remains one of my favorite pastry shops in Paris, largely because I spent 5 very happy months here as an intern right after Ferrandi. It is in this kitchen where I first learned the ways of a professional pâtissier – sure, the pastry program at Ferrandi is wonderful and I wholeheartedly recommend it, but school just can’t prepare you enough for working in a real kitchen. The team at UDAP has almost totally changed since then – only one current pâtissier (salut Alex!) was there during my epoch – but I happen to know the new chef, Nicolas Bacheyre, as we had worked together for a little bit at Fauchon where he was the sous chef. It is indeed a very small circle, this pastry world in Paris, and thanks to that I can go back to snoop around in the kitchen from time to time :)

It’s barely over half a year since Nicolas started working as the chef pâtissier at UDAP, but he has already came up with plenty of new creations, many with interesting flavor combinations that you can’t find elsewhere. When I saw the picture and description of the latest Chou Bijou, for example, I simply had to go taste it…and of course came back with a bit more than just that.

Here it is, Le Chou Bijou (€5.40), a jewel-like chou filled with black currant compote and topped with mirabelle tea chantilly cream. Black currant is not new to me as it’s a fruit frequently used in French pastries, but I had never tasted it in combination with the mirabelle tea flavor (and for that matter, I’d never had mirabelle tea before) and it’s really quite a lovely match. Like all the choux and éclairs at UDAP, this one is baked with crunchy bits of cocoa beans for extra flavor and crunch.

UDAP now also has a monthly tartelette, this month’s flavor being Tartelette Figues Lavande (€5.80). The base is a gluten-free pâte sablée (a sweet, crumbly pastry dough) with hazelnut, topped with fig confit, lavender ganache montée (a type of whipped cream), fresh figs from Solliès, a few roasted hazelnut halves, and coriander shoots. I was especially keen on trying this one because I had recently paired lavender cream with apricot/white peach compote in a pastry, and was curious to taste the lavender-fig combination. I also loved the green shoots (even though I hate the coriander flavor in general) in contrast with the brilliant color of figs – it’s like a fresh little rooftop garden.

Lastly, the seasonal Pêché Provençal (€5.90), only available during the summer months. The base is an almond and vanilla pain de Gênes, layered with white peach confit, basil ganache montée, fresh peaches, almonds from Provence, and basil shoots. I’ve always enjoyed basil in cuisine, and in recent years have grown to love the flavor in pastries as well especially when paired with fruits, so this one was a hit for me.

Here is what it looks like without the white chocolate decoration, so you can see the composition a bit clearer.

Like what you see? Drop by Un Dimanche à Paris for a taste of these before they go out of season. Apparently there are also some exciting new creations planned for the months leading up to Christmas…stay tuned.