Beloved bakery Patachou is back (sort of)

For anyone who still misses Patachou, the beloved family-run pâtisserie in Rosedale that closed its doors in 2014 after 35 years, we have good news: it’s been reborn. Someone alert Patachou stan Eugene Levy!

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Croquembouche, which opened its doors last month at 1494 Danforth Avenue, is run by Thierry Robert, the nephew of Patachou chef Christian Serebecbere. Robert was trained by his uncle and worked at Patachou on and off since he was 17 years old. But it was always his dream to have his own place.

He spent the past three years acquiring baking supplies and equipment, storing it all in his dining room until it was time to invest in actual storage space. When that filled up, it was back to storing his purchases in the dining room. “It was then that my wife said, ‘Okay, now it’s time to start to look for a location.’" He was originally shopping for a space around Queen East, but the expensive rent and lack of options brought him north to Danforth, to his current location between Greenwood and Coxwell.

Those who still reminisce about the good old Patachou days will be happy to know that Robert has some of the original recipes committed to memory and absolutely everything is made from scratch, just as it was at Patachou. “And that means a lot to me, because that’s the way cooking and baking should be,” he says.

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Right now, it’s just Robert baking in the back (he arrives at 2 a.m. to start prepping for the day), with his son and a friend working the counter. The current menu includes the expected classics (buttery croissants, danishes, tarts) and coffee-based beverages as well as a few pre-made sandwiches. And for the holidays, he’s making bûches de Noël, traditional French yule logs. The goal is to eventually serve soups, quiches, salads and made-to-order sandwiches. To do that, Robert is currently training another chef so he can scale up production. “I just can’t wait to be able to offer my customers more,” he says.