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If you’ve ever walked in the vicinity of 628 Sturt Street during the early morning hours, your nostrils have undoubtedly been awoken by the smell wafting from Alain Gayral’s French patisserie.
Owner and baker at Le-Petit Patissier, Alain completed his baking apprenticeship in south west France. He then baked his way across Canada, Spain, New York and Switzerland, savouring his first taste of Australia in 1991 when he opened his shop Le-Petit Patissier in Carnegie for six years.
Alain then moved his ever popular shop back to Edmonton in Canada, then back to Spain for another year, before returning to Australia and opening up a store in East Malvern. After selling this shop, Alain worked at the highly regarded bakery Babka in Fitzroy. With its rustic break and delicious sweet pastries, Babka is a Melbourne institution.
“All of us have really enjoyed being with you and you have certainly shown us that qualified French patissiers are the best,” said Babka’s Sasha Lewis on his departure.
It was them time for Alain to find somewhere to drop his anchor and settle. He came across Ballarat when travelling Victoria, and knew this was where he wanted to be - a large town with a genuine country feel about it. Ballarat has been lucky enough to have authentic French pastries and bread for the past seven years right on its doorstep.
Many other bakers in the region have asked Alain if he seeks his flour from France, because they believe the flour in Australia is not ideal for baking bread. However Alain will tell you it’s not the flour, it’s the baker!
Alain has developed a large number of loyal, regular customers who adore his baked goods, and have a great relationship with he and the staff at Le-Petit Patissier. Although Alain has moved around a lot during his long career, he has now settled in this beautiful town and is here to stay – how lucky are we!
Le-Petit Patissier is open every day of the week from 7am. Alain looks forward to greeting old and new customers with his friendly “Bonjour!” as you walk through the doors of this much-loved patisserie.
This advertising feature is sponsored by Le-Petit Patissier.