With 15 years in the pastry business, a French baker says only in the last few years has the macaron scene exploded.
Since 2011, Sandrine Martin has been baking macarons for International Macaron Day. The event hails from France, and is celebrated with proceeds from the bake sales going to local charities.
Martin, with her team of eight employees at Sandrine French Pastry and Chocolate, makes anywhere from 50 to 200 of the colourful treats a day.
鈥淲e do everything here for scratch, chocolate cakes, pastries, macarons. We also have savouries, jams made with organic fruit and we do everything in this tiny location,鈥� she said.
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Made in house at the store鈥檚 location on Dilworth Drive, the pastries are also sold at Urban Fare and at 91大黄鸭 General Hospital.
Martin always had a passion for food and comes from a family of chocolatiers, pastry chefs and bakers.
鈥淚t came later for me, but I鈥檝e always loved it, more as a customer.鈥�
With two children, who were six at eight when they moved to the Central Okanagan, she said that it鈥檚 an easier industry to transition into anywhere in the world.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need so much (of) the language at the start,鈥� said Martin.
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鈥淲e鈥檝e always been doing them, but definitely the sales have been expanding about macarons, but it was not our main item and it鈥檚 still not our main item. It鈥檚 one of them, but cakes and croissants are our big sellers.鈥�
The biggest challenge she said, was not adjusting the baking to suit Canadian palates, but more the communication of what the products actually were.
鈥淓verything that we do here are things I bake as well in France. There鈥檚 nothing I鈥檝e adjusted to the local market,鈥� she said, adding it took time to communicate what certain products were available because some words were foreign to customers.
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鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 a unique offer, and the products taste good, they鈥檙e quality products and they鈥檙e made with love and consistency, I think that鈥檚 the key, doing hard work and good work on a daily basis and people keep coming back,鈥� she said.
For first timers, she recommends the macarons and the mille feuilles cake.
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