Patisserie 46: Minneapolis, MN

Patisserie 46 - Bake From Scratch
Photo Courtesy Eliesa Johnson

In the bakery’s pastry case, exquisite French pastries—which earned number two of ten of “The World’s Best Pâtisseries” in National Geographic in 2012—and immaculate confections commingle with homespun Midwestern treats. In this unique selection, gold leaf-dusted petit gateaux and exquisite tarts topped with tiny towers of profiteroles look right at home alongside modest chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon pecan pull aparts. Try the light-as-air éclair filled with vanilla crème or a moist, olive-oil enriched gibassier spiced with Spanish anise seed and candied orange peel. John has not only been recognized for his pastry, but for his baking as well, most recently as semi-finalist for 2015 Outstanding Baker by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. It’s rare that a pastry shop does bread as well as it does pastry, but Pâtisserie 46 gets high marks with winners like the golden (and bestselling) 46 Baguette and Olive Sourdough, a wholewheat with Kalamata olives and thyme. “There’s a side of me that likes the idea of the refined pastry, but I grew up in the country,” John says. “There’s just something about a farmhouse table loaf of bread,” John says. “It has that soul, you know?”

Some may wonder why a master pâtisserie who has worked in some of London and Chicago’s swankiest spots, chose a quaint neighborhood in the Midwest to open his bakery. In a move opposite of the American public’s flight to the suburbs in the early 1960s, more and more Americans are returning to the city center to build urban communities with all the amenities needed within walking distance of home. With downtown revitalization, a bakery is just as crucial to neighborhood culture and engagement as a local theater or green space. Pâtisserie 46 stands as the model of this revival. The people of Kingfield are familiar with Patisserie 46. They get a local experience, and the same type of escape a walk in the park provides.

Photo Courtesy Patisserie 46

“The most important thing I’ve learned from John is that the neighborhood is the heart of a pâtisserie, the life blood of a bakery,” says interior designer Elizabeth Rose, who worked with John to create the space for his second bakery, Rose Street Pâtisserie. “For John, it’s not about being at every single airport kiosk. It’s not about getting his name out there. He simply wants to make the best product possible for this community to enjoy, and I think there’s something really beautiful and poetic about that.”

John is onto the next neighborhood with the Rose Street Pâtisserie opened this past May in Linden Hills, about four miles from Pâtisserie 46. The new shop will have the same neighborhood-driven spirit as John’s first bakery, but with a sleeker feel so that the emphasis is kept where John wants it: on the pastry. Designed to be reminiscent of a giant jewelry box where the pastries are the diamonds and gems, the silver bakery has reflective, floor-to-ceiling windows covering the entire front of the cube-shaped building storefront. Customers convene in simple black chairs at several dark wood community tables inside the light gray walls that have minimal décor. Instead of displaying one batch of croissants or mille-feuille in the expansive, rectangular pastry case, only one of each good is showcased at a time with an individual spotlight. This way, the individual pastry gets the kind of appreciation it deserves, John says.

“We’re starting to see some of the same people come in to Rose Street every day, and I hope it fills the same role that Pâtisserie 46 has as the neighborhood bakery,” John says. “I believe that every neighborhood needs a pâtisserie. The best compliment I can receive is when someone tells me my dessert or food reminds them of their childhood because what we’re doing is selling moments and memories to people. If my work can elicit a real emotional response, I think we’ve done our job.”

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