By Pomélo
Long confined to the mold of grand tradition, French pastry (like viennoiserie) still holds its global supremacy—but it's learning to evolve and blend through contact with other cultures.
When Dominique Ansel launches a new project, the culinary world pays close attention. The 47-year-old pastry chef from Picardy made waves in 2013 when he created the “cronut” in New York—a cross between a croissant and a donut that quickly became a contemporary icon of global pastry. Twelve years later, what began as a weekend Mother’s Day treat now generates up to $8,000 in daily revenue (and yes, if you’re wondering whether the cronut exists as a scented candle—the answer is: it does).
Just a few days ago, Ansel opened Papa d’Amour, a new concept exploring the world of bread and sweets from East Asia—a region close to his heart thanks to his two children and his wife, who is originally from Taiwan. The egg tart, beloved across the region and reminiscent of the Portuguese pastel de nata, is reimagined here with pastry cream, a shortcrust base topped with crunchy pretzel bits, and a hazelnut butter glaze fresh out of the oven. The Japanese-style shokupan—often seen as a simple sandwich loaf—is transformed into a laminated version. It’s a distant world, blended with French techniques.
Also in New York, Eunji Lee caused a stir when she opened her pastry shop Lysée in 2022. Trained in Paris under Cédric Grolet, she crafts pieces like a hyper-realistic corn cob made of corn cream brioche, madeleines glazed with caramel and yuja cream (a sweet, tangy, and slightly bitter Korean citrus), or infused with daechu (Korean jujube). As for the beloved Breton kouign-amann—renamed “KA” for easier pronunciation—it’s split in half during the warmer months and filled with house-made vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of dulce de leche. “My inspiration for opening Lysée was to bring together my Korean heritage, French training, and the flavors of New York,” she told Rose & Ivy magazine.
Gordon Ramsay is opening an Asian restaurant in London (Lucky Cat), Yannick Alléno is exploring Japan through his Pavyllon restaurants, and Alexandre Giesbert (Daroco) is embracing Spanish flavors with Casa Pregonda, expected to open in Paris by the end of the month. Chefs are no longer staying in their lanes—they’re boldly crossing culinary borders, even as some raise concerns about cultural appropriation.
In 2025, pastry chefs, too, are embracing multifaceted identities. Fusion is no longer something to fear—it builds bridges between cultures and introduces new ingredients and traditions. All of Brittany should cheer when the kouign-amann is reinvented by a pastry chef with nearly 80,000 Instagram followers and praise from The New York Times.
Back in the early 2000s, Japanese pastry chef Sadaharu Aoki paved the way in Paris with matcha éclairs and other creations blending green tea or azuki (red bean) with classic French techniques. About a decade later, fellow countryman Mori Yoshida followed suit with black sesame flans and fraisiers infused with shiso, from his shop at 65 Avenue de Breteuil in Paris’s 7th arrondissement.
Now we eagerly await the next wave of hybrid pastries—not gimmicks, but signals of a new era in French pastry: open to the world, able to synthesize global influences and obsessions into something uniquely delicious.
