Feature: Laduree

Photos Courtesy of Laduree

     Naturally, for my first feature, I had to choose Laduree.  The French patisserie is the mastermind behind the little double-decker confectionery we know as the macaron.  In 1862, a miller named Louis-Ernest Laduree opened up a bakery at 16 rue Royale in Paris.  After a fire, the shop was transformed into a pastry shop with the famous painter Jules Cheret as its decorator.  It was Laduree's wife who had the idea of turning the shop into a cafe/pastry shop at a time when cafe's were becoming popular.  Thus, a tea salon was born -one of the first in Paris. 
     In 1930, Pierre Desfontaines, the second cousin of Laduree extended the tea room.  Pierre Desfontaine was the inventor of the famous double-decker macaron. Laduree was passed down from generation to generation until David Holder and his father purchased the establishment in 1993.  Since then, Laduree has expanded to open several equally architecturally stunning and enchanting salons throughout Paris, Europe, and even Japan.
     Today, many people would agree that no trip to Paris would be complete without a visit to Laduree.
I have been cursed and have never been to Paris!  Perhaps my hunt for macaroons will lead me there someday.  It would be a perfect end, n'est pas?

Source: Laduree