We can’t write about Belgium all the time without mentioning food. Belgians are food lovers. It’s not so difficult, even in the smallest villages, to find a place where they serve good food.ILOVEBELGIUM
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Mostly you’ll even have a few restaurants or brasseries to choose from. The I Love Belgium team wants to avoid writing about Belgian cliché food such as chocolat, Brussels sprouts or mussels. We try to find the rare pearls all over Belgium and Le Saint-Aulaye is one of those. Everybody will know the centenary pâtisserie Wittamer on the chique Sablon in Brussels, but Le Saint-Aulaye certainly tops them easily. The I Love Belgiuam team discovered this hidden gem in through an uptown lawyer who was absolutely smitten by everything the pâtissiers of Le Saint-Aulaye concoct, the I Love Belgium tried it out and now we’re also hooked.
Based in Ixelles since 1986, Saint-Aulaye is a patisserie specialised in producing the highest quality traditional French pastry.
The name comes from a small town in the Dordogne where Gérard Marciquet, the founder of the pâtisserie, did his apprentice-ship.
After years of being members of the Saint-Aulaye team, Fabien Grégoire and Jean-Louis Barré decided to take over the pâtisserie in 2008 and they have been running it outstandingly since then. Both have long and in-depth experience. Fabien Compagnon of the Tour of France, leads and directs the team of pastry chefs who work through the night to give you the very best of French tradition and quality. Jean-Louis, with more than 20 years of experience in the service business (including a stint at Harrod’s in London) welcomes you and will, together with his team, advise you if necessary.
And it must be said, when you enter Le Saint-Aulaye, it’s a feast for eyes or better, all your senses are awakened. So difficult to choose from so many delicious tarts, quiches, bread, cookies and so much more. Le Saint-Aulaye is also an all-male bakery, so no presumptous women (that you sometimes get at chique bakeries in Paris) behind the counter but cute freshly groomed boys who serve you with the biggest smile aiming to attain the highest service level. It’s like going to a gay bakery in Chelsea, New York where you don’t whether to look at the cute baker boy or his tasty rolls. The I Love Belgium team is serving you some pictures of their classics but you just have to check out the boys and let them spoil your taste buds.
Apple-Apricot Feuilleté: this tart mixes the subtle flavours of apricots and caramelised apples with an almond cream.
Raspberry crust: this classic of the pastry world is made with short crust pastry and a light whipped cream into which are poured ripe raspberries.
Condrieux tart: a creamy base of pistachios, poached peaches and rosemary, and a crumble are all wrapped in a delicious flaky pastry.
L’Archange: dominated by dark chocolate, L’ Archange combines different textures. First off, short bread pastry is the base, and then there is a thick layer of black chocolate mousse. In the centre of this mousse, there is a fine layer of chocolate biscuit that sits on a vanilla bourbon crème brûlée thus delivering a delicious contrast of tastes and consistency.
Le Frambois Lait d’Amande: this contrasting cake mixes the softness of almonds and the freshness of raspberries. On an almond biscuit, a raspberry bavaroise filled with pieces of fruit is covered with milk almond mousse full of caramelized almonds that add a little touch of crunch.
© I Love Belgium
