Continued from
going strong. Its development took three months which “was just like another pastry really. I developed the recipe until I was happy with it, and the first day it was just like any other launch — I made 35.”
But two days after a blogger’s article attracted 140,000 website links in one afternoon Ansel walked up to find 150 people queuing outside the bakery. He remembers the pastries “were selling on the black market for like $2,000”, and how he raised $100,000 for just 24 in a charity auction. “It went mad. I didn’t get it. It had travelled the world in just a few days.” he loves St John Bakery’s doughnuts. He wants to experiment more himself. “I don’t want our creation to kill our creativity. The Cronut is a great pastry, but it’s not it.”
Indeed, the queue-worthy pastry mash-ups sometimes distract from the fact that Ansel is a hugely skilled craftsman. He grew up north of Paris (“with not very much”) and started cooking during military service before getting a job at the Fauchon bakery. He later became head of pastry for Daniel Boulud’s flagship three-Michelinstarred French restaurant, Daniel, in New York.
Introducing his prodigy’s recipe book, Boulud wrote: “I am pleased that Dominique has continued to represent the DNA of French patisserie while embracing a true New York je ne sais quoi.”
He insists he doesn’t feel pressured to top the Cronut. He has other bestsellers — the cookie shot also has its own queue from 3pm — and says “if you’re afraid of failing, you’ll be afraid of quitting. Creating for me is really fun. It’s really not pressure. My team are afraid that their ideas aren’t good enough. But we’ve learned to criticise ourselves in a good way, so that if someone has an idea, we talk about it.
“Food to me is very much about emotions,” he continues. “It’s the way to connect with people. The first thing I do when we have a new pastry is to watch people eating them, just to see their emotions.”
Does the serial inventor ever switch off ? “I wish I had time for hobbies!” he says. “I did run the New York marathon a few years ago, although I just had knee surgery.”
He also says he works out “a little. But also I’m on my feet all day long… I don’t get much sleep. I usually wake up at 4am or 5am and go to bed at midnight. And I talk to Japan every day. I will do the same with London.”
He’s not worried that Brexit could kibosh his London plans, and doesn’t think politics “would affect the opening of a small bakery. We’re still on track with the opening. It’s not fine dining. It’s a bakery. Anyone can buy something: it’s a lot more accessible.”
As for trends, he says quietly: “I don’t follow them. I like to lead them.”