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Pastry Chef Cecilia Mercante
Bonjour!
I am a French Pastry Chef trained at the
Institut National de la Boulangerie
Patisserie in Rouen, Normandie France.
Before coming to the U.S., I lived, worked,
and travelled all over France, enjoying the
local cuisine wherever I went.
I started my pastry business in 2004 on a
table on a street corner at Detroit's Eastern
Market. Week after week, the line of my
clients was bigger and bigger. Some days I
even sold all my cakes in one hour or two.
Except the weather, that was much colder
than in Paris, everything was nice.
Bonjour!
I am a French Pastry Chef trained at the
Institut National de la Boulangerie
Patisserie in Rouen, Normandie France.
Before coming to the U.S., I lived, worked,
and travelled all over France, enjoying the
local cuisine wherever I went.
I started my pastry business in 2004 on a
table on a street corner at Detroit's Eastern
Market. Week after week, the line of my
clients was bigger and bigger. Some days I
even sold all my cakes in one hour or two.
Except the weather, that was much colder
than in Paris, everything was nice.
Around January 2005, Bob Cerrito, the owner of a pizza place located in front of the
market, proposed to me to come inside his place to sell my cakes. I have to say that it
was an unexpected treat. I was about to turn into ice that day!
It was the beginning of a collaboration of several years until Bob decided to sell his place.
I will never forget him; he gave me the opportunity to bloom in a warm place. Some
people are just nice. Thank you Bob!
Saturday after Saturday, I wove links with my clients. My English becoming better and
better, I was able to enter long conversations about cooking with other people that, like
me, love food. So it was natural that the idea of teaching came to me, which I did
through community education programs, my first kitchen being too small at that time.
After several years of success, different opportunities came to me
a very short time and even if the experience was unique, I missed the direct contact with
clients. Opening a pastry shop never really tempted me. One of my big selling points is to
cook for my clients no earlier than the day before he or she eats the cake. That's not very
realistic in a shop. In addition, the idea of keeping a refrigerated window full whatever
the hour of the day didn't please me. For me, a good pastry is the one that you just
cooked several hours before you eat it! I think it's for that reason that grandmothers'
cakes are so popular. They are made with 2 major ingredients
So after considering all these different options,
I decided that the only way to conciliate teaching,
cooking, and continuing to create new recipes
was to do them all in my own professional kitchen.
So I built it, and even added a lovely French-
decorated room to my house to test the cooking
with my students afterwards.
It took me a year to find a good location, Ann Arbor, and a good contractor, David Haig. (I
had already found a good husband to support me in that long process.)
So I am ready.
Ready to cook and have fresh pastries for you at the Farmers' Market almost every
Saturday (I will skip January and February. Officially to work on new recipes, realistically,
it's too cold!)
Ready to welcome you in my little cosy place to share good recipes and good food.
Ready to enjoy life in my new place.
See you soon.
Your favorite pastry chef,
Cecilia Mercante
Recognition
My pastries have been featured in the Detroit News, Hour Detroit Magazine, and the
Detroit Free Press. My "Salmon with Champagne Sauce" recipe was featured in the
December 2007 Hour Detroit Magazine.
market, proposed to me to come inside his place to sell my cakes. I have to say that it
was an unexpected treat. I was about to turn into ice that day!
It was the beginning of a collaboration of several years until Bob decided to sell his place.
I will never forget him; he gave me the opportunity to bloom in a warm place. Some
people are just nice. Thank you Bob!
Saturday after Saturday, I wove links with my clients. My English becoming better and
better, I was able to enter long conversations about cooking with other people that, like
me, love food. So it was natural that the idea of teaching came to me, which I did
through community education programs, my first kitchen being too small at that time.
After several years of success, different opportunities came to me
- Opening a pastryshop
- Working for a gourmet restaurant
- Teaching more
a very short time and even if the experience was unique, I missed the direct contact with
clients. Opening a pastry shop never really tempted me. One of my big selling points is to
cook for my clients no earlier than the day before he or she eats the cake. That's not very
realistic in a shop. In addition, the idea of keeping a refrigerated window full whatever
the hour of the day didn't please me. For me, a good pastry is the one that you just
cooked several hours before you eat it! I think it's for that reason that grandmothers'
cakes are so popular. They are made with 2 major ingredients
- love
- and time
So after considering all these different options,
I decided that the only way to conciliate teaching,
cooking, and continuing to create new recipes
was to do them all in my own professional kitchen.
So I built it, and even added a lovely French-
decorated room to my house to test the cooking
with my students afterwards.
It took me a year to find a good location, Ann Arbor, and a good contractor, David Haig. (I
had already found a good husband to support me in that long process.)
So I am ready.
Ready to cook and have fresh pastries for you at the Farmers' Market almost every
Saturday (I will skip January and February. Officially to work on new recipes, realistically,
it's too cold!)
Ready to welcome you in my little cosy place to share good recipes and good food.
Ready to enjoy life in my new place.
See you soon.
Your favorite pastry chef,
Cecilia Mercante
Recognition
My pastries have been featured in the Detroit News, Hour Detroit Magazine, and the
Detroit Free Press. My "Salmon with Champagne Sauce" recipe was featured in the
December 2007 Hour Detroit Magazine.
