Yann Couvreur

Fifty millefeuilles a day and a case that changes

The house signature is a vanilla millefeuille built on Madagascar vanilla, and only fifty are made each day. Yann Couvreur created it during his time at the Prince de Galles, before he left palace hotels for his own boutiques, and the Lebey guide named it dessert of the year in 2014. In the Paris shops it appears deconstructed rather than as a stacked slice. The rest of the case follows the same logic, sweet work guided by the seasoning and pairing habits of savoury cooking: Mandria, Mylia, Framboisier rose coco, Cheesecake Citron Shiso, Tarte Isatis, Merveille, Flan a la vanille de Madagascar and a Gateau au chocolat. Viennoiserie and breakfast pieces run alongside, including Oranais, a cinnamon roll and a Grande Brioche au sucre.

A design-led counter with a fox on everything

The range is organised in four lines, patisseries, viennoiseries, chocolats and epicerie, and the room is built for looking, choosing and sometimes waiting while a dessert is assembled. A long display case faces a window counter with bar stools for eating in, and the chevron wood facade reads modern rather than like a neighbourhood bakery. The fox motif is the thread: it appears on packaging, placemats, seasonal chocolate pieces and boutique miniatures, and it has a public history too, including a four and a half metre fox sculpture made with the artist Richard Orlinski for the 2017 Salon du Chocolat. The Paris story runs from the first shop in the Goncourt district to the Marais, Boulevard Haussmann, Batignolles, Vincennes and Saint Charles, and the identity holds steady across them.

Millefeuille first, then work through the case

Start with the Madagascar vanilla millefeuille. It anchors the house story and it is the clearest link between a palace-hotel career and a boutique counter. To stay near that profile, add the Flan a la vanille de Madagascar. After that, choose by category. For fruit, look to seasonal tartes, Framboisier rose coco or Tarte Isatis, and to roules such as Roule Isatis. For breakfast, the named viennoiserie runs to Oranais, the cinnamon roll and the Grande Brioche au sucre. To take home, the chocolate and epicerie shelf carries Barre Guimauve Caramel, the Coffret Chocolat Trio Loves, Chocolat Renard Love in coco and noisette, tablettes of black sesame and merveille, and cakes including marbre, noisette, chocolat tonka, isatis and citron jaune.