- Our Guide to Paris
- About the Mouth
- Discussion Forum
- Tours & Tastings
- Taste of Montmartre
- Best of the Marais Food Tour
- Taste of the Historic Les Halles Market District
- Taste of the Latin Quarter
- Tour de Fromage – exploring the exceptional cheeses of France
- Sweet Paris: the Chocolate & Pastry Extravaganza
- The Bar à Vin Scene: Wine Bars of Eastern Paris
- Taste of Saint-Germain
Jacques Genin has stopped making pastry
Today at Jacques Genin, atop the glass case which previously held his precious desserts, there was a sign. It read (I paraphrase) “chocolate is my first love… I want to give it my full attention… from this day forward, no more pastry.”
I had a visceral reaction to this news. My mouth went dry. My brain started rewinding through all of the desserts I had enjoyed in this room. A long-forgotten Sara McLachlan song crept up to provide the soundtrack as I considered: no more tarte tatin with the crackly burnt sugar top. No staggeringly priced wild strawberry tart to save up for in late Spring. Tarts with honey walnut, chocolate ganache, perfect raspberry, and LEMON. Oh God, that lemon tart, with variations like rosemary, tarragon and basil! And what about that towering, almost too-tall Paris-Brest with whole toasted hazelnuts spackled on top? Or his éclairs, shiny as a mirror and a different species altogether from the soggy grocery store éclairs of my youth?
Practically speaking, all is not lost. It will still be possible to have a made-to-order millefeuille in the salon. One can order larger desserts (for four or more people) in advance. And of course, the chocolates, caramels and pâtes des fruits will carry on.
However, the individual pastries that I have hysterically mourned are now on hold. Why? Word on the street is that Genin lost his sous-chef and many other hands on his pastry-making team. Rather than put out inferior pastry, he’s narrowing the focus for a time. And this breakup (because that’s what it feels like) may not be permanent, according to the last lines of his letter:
“Que les aficianados ne désespèrent pas ! La pâtisserie n’a pas dit son dernier mot. Gageons qu’elle saura, comme les rêves, réapparaître.”
“But do not despair! The pastry has not uttered its last word. I’m betting that she, like other dreams, will someday reappear.”
Update January 27, 2013: Genin is throwing us a bone, making one daily pastry in addition to the millefeuille. Phyllis Flick reported that she spotted the lemon tart last week.
Tagged with: chocolat • chocolate • dessert • Jacques Genin • lemon tart • millefeuille • pastry • pâtisserie • tarte citron
21 Responses to Jacques Genin has stopped making pastry
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
About the Mouth
Our Favorite Things
- Five Great for a Box of Chocolates
- Five Great for Galette des Rois
- Five Great for Hot Chocolate
- Six Great for Wild Game
- Five Great for Oysters
- Five Great for Crêpes
- Five Great for Last Minute Booking
- Five Great Frenchie Substitutes
- Five Great Places for Outdoor Dining
- Five Great for Ice Cream
- Five Great Steak Frites
- Five Great with Kids
- Five Great for Inexpensive Chinese
- Five Great for Vegetarians
- Five Great for Macarons
Recent comments
- Catherine Down on About the MouthHi Tamarra, Thanks! We are just a website and are located in Paris. Glad to hear you're...
- Tamarra on About the MouthDear Staff of Paris by Mouth, Merci beaucoup pour votre site!!! Thank you ever so much for...
- John on La Cantine du Troquet DupleixOf our five dinners we ate while in Paris, this was one of the top and by...
- François on Five Great for a Box of ChocolatesI know you're concentrating on Paris but I have to mention an award winner chocolatier in the...
- Catherine Down on Five Great for a Box of ChocolatesHi Brian, Not all of the top 5 have websites so you may have to call but...
- Catherine Down on Le Mary CelesteBonjour, Nous ne faisons pas des réserves sur ce site. Vous pouvez envoyer directement le restaurant à...
The world fell silent for a few minutes when I saw the headline!
But I do wonder if that could potentially mean a sous-chef position is available… hmm…
OMG THAT’S AWFUL NEWS!!! I honestly gasped when I read your headliner! Thank god they’re still continuing with the millefeuilles, but it’s such a shame that they’re going to stop making Paris Brest!!! I loved it the most. :*(
OH NO. All I can say is I am glad I stopped in again when I was there in November. He had better not stop the caramels or I will faint.
And so what is the closest alternative, Meg, in terms of product? I had him on my list for March – a Paris-Brest I’ve been dreaming of for ages.
That millefeuille will be the first thing I order next time I’m in Paris (hopefully in the fall). Hope I won’t be too late!!
Jo
Hi Lori – for Paris-Brest, I quite like Pâtisserie des Rêves. For lemon tart, there is no substitute. I recommend a combination of this book and this video to make it yourself.
Sure his pastries were/are great, sadly he is a terrible person to work for. Three of his pastry chefs quit recently because they couldn’t take the abuse any longer. It is not always easy to work for a genius.
Oh no! Terrible news. I am running there NOW to buy up all of the caramel eclairs. I will freeze them and ration them until the world is set aright.
Devastating news. Thank goodness I managed to have One breathtakingly beautiful lemon tart while I was in Paris in May last year.
Sorry Melissa K – they’re already done. As of yesterday, January 15.
Recently did a millefeuille tasting with guests in Paris. Pierre Herme’s 2000 feuille vanille beat out Jacques Genin by a long shot.
His pastries were good, his chocolates and caramels great. He’s right to stick to his passion.
For your caramel éclair needs, I suggest Blé Sucré or La Maison du Chocolat.
He lost almost the entire pastry team, not just many.
His desserts are sweet, but not his personality.
C’est toujours les meilleurs qui s’en vont.
There goes the very best pâtisserie in Paris. Now we’re stuck with media darlings who care more about looks than taste, loading their stuff with too much sugar, texture agents and gelatine to please the sugar addicts and help the cakes stay upright – or with industrial chains. Jacques is the one that cares the most about taste balance. The one who ponders over a tarte aux pommes for years before he puts it on the shelf. Miles above the others.
So, so sad.
spoke to Jacques and the changes are as such :
… in the tea salon ..only Mille-Feuille a la commande … pour emporter 4 ou 6 person ..Paris-Brest, St Honore’, Tarte au Citron ou Mille-Feuille …whew !!!!
The lemon tart at Carl Marletti (51 rue Censier in the 5th) is the equal of Genin’s, and his eclairs the same. I was at Genin on Saturday for his last day of pastry and it was heartbreaking, but Marletti is a worthy successor.
Very happy to read that the caramels are staying. I had the same reaction when Patrick Roger stopped making his chocolate macarons. I still want to protest about that sometimes in front of his shop.
no worries, just find out where his former pastry chef will be going (or starting a new shop) and follow him/her and that’s where you’ll find sweet heaven again.
My heart almost stopped when I read this headline. Love Jacques Genin!!! The caramels, the heart stopping lemon tart with basil, the fashion house style decorated shop. To Die For. I would love the lemon tart recipe since I live in the states and only get to Paris every couple years. . . Will someone take pity on me and share the recipe?
You can find it here (in French, but I guess the ingredients are quite easy to translate).
http://www.lefooding.com/la-toquera/toquera-101-la-tarte-au-citron.html
I’ve already made it but to be honest – I wasn’t too impressed. I haven’t tried Genin’s original yet but the tarte according to his recipe would be too lemon-y for me.
(And now I am waiting for God’s wrath to hit me.)
Indeed that’s really a sad news, and the line for the salon de thé is getting really long now. He should think about opening a new location !