Paris is a generous city, with riches enough for all of us to discover it differently. Your Paris is not my Paris, and vice versa. But everyone can learn from Kate Reid, the aerospace engineer turned croissant queen of Melbourne's Lune Croissanterie.
Her Paris began five years ago with a cursory glance and ended in an obsession.
"While I was working in England on Formula One, in 2012, I saw a photo of a stack of pains aux chocolats in a beautiful Parisian patisserie," she explains.
"I literally closed the book, walked out and booked a ticket to Paris. I went to the bakery – Du Pain et des Idées – and there they were: perfect pastries, stacked up just like in the book. I was speechless."
It was an epiphany that saw her take a U-turn in her career. Reid talked her way into a brief but inspiring apprenticeship with the patisserie's celebrated baker Christophe Vasseur before coming home to Melbourne and opening her own croissanterie with brother Cameron, bringing precision and imagination to the art of the croissant. Investment by new business partner, visionary cafe owner Nathan Toleman, allowed Lune to expand into an architecturally theatrical space in Fitzroy in 2016.
Paris, for Reid, will always be the Canal St-Martin district, where the air is scented with vanilla and the grey cobblestones scattered with the crumbs of some of the most delectable pastries on earth.
"I still go to Du Pain et des Idées, of course, because it has the spirit and craft of the classic boulangeries, combined with, as the name suggests, new ideas.
"Benoit Castel's Liberté Patisserie Boulangerie in the 10th [district] also does a very tasty croissant, made from pâte feuilletée inversée – laminated pastry that has butter as the outermost layer instead of dough, which is difficult and messy to make."
'The best I've ever had'
Et pour le cafe?
"I normally start my day in the 10th arrondissement with breakfast at Ten Belles, or with a Belleville Brulerie coffee at Holybelly. My friends Nico and Sarah have created a wonderful, friendly and generous cafe. The pancakes with fried eggs, bacon crumbs, bourbon butter and maple syrup are just ridiculous."
For visual or culinary grazing mid-morning or afternoons, Reid recommends a stroll through the Bon Marché department store's famous food court. "Their yoghurt section blows my mind every time – the joy of a whole section dedicated to yoghurt!" She also makes time to wander the small food markets, especially the permanent market on Rue Montorgueil in Les Halles and the Marché Bastille for seasonal produce, cheese and charcuterie.
For lunch, she heads to Rose Bakery, a minimalist Franco-British canteen. "The original in Pigalle is my favourite, which now has a food store next door as well. The savoury tarts are the best I've ever had and are served with freshly made salads of the day."
Her other hot tip for lunch is a taqueria called Candelaria in Le Marais. "It's cheap and delicious, with a fabulous cocktail bar out the back, through an unmarked door."
If you're liking the sound of Reid's Paris, follow her example as the day fades and head for an aperitif at Le Mary Celeste, an oyster and champagne bar in Le Marais owned by the same mob as Candelaria.
And to dine?
"I would head straight to Le Baratin, an old‑school family bistro in Belleville run by Raquel Carena and Phillippe Pinoteau. It's a classic bistro in the 20th arrondissement with traditional food cooked from the heart and a great wine list."
Merci, Kate Reid.
AFR Contributor
