Just in Time for the Holidays: New Classic Gourmet Bakery with a Contemporary Mindset

from L'Atelier Gourmet Bakery

(October 14, 2030) L’Atelier Gourmet Bakery quietly opened its doors for business in Larchmont on August 9, 2003, and in just two months has attracted a loyal local clientele. The L’Atelier, which bakes daily on the premises, is the first retail venture for Owner/Manager Dooyon Cho and Head Chef Alain Roudiere. Said Cho, “All of the baked goods are made from scratch, using only the best ingredients, most of which are imported from France. Absolutely no preservatives are used.”

Mini pastries, cakes, tarts, and cookies are Chef Roudiere’s forte. His other specialties include morning pastries (croissant, pain au chocolat, brioche, apple turnover, and Danish), quiches, fresh bread, and a variety of sandwiches, including paninis. All recipes used at L’Atelier were learned, created, and compiled by the chef during the course of his twenty-five year career.

“We understand the demand for delicious, high-quality, and beautifully presented products,” said Roudiere. “We also understand that people are trying their best to a maintain healthy lifestyle." L’Atelier is a classic bakery but the chef strives to match his customers’ lifestyles, priorities, and sensitivities. The bakery offers sugar-free and non-dairy items. Every Monday, sugar-free apple strudel and cookies are available and Roudiere has created a non-dairy soy milk crème brulee. Currently, the chef is working on a recipe for low-fat mousse cakes. Kosher items and Challah bread are available weekly.

With the kitchen and storefront at the same locale, customers can speak with the chef and special requests are readily accommodated. “There’s ample parking in our shopping center (next to the Guitar Center), which is a huge convenience for our customers,” said Cho.

“We’ve noticed that Larchmont is a very community-oriented place where residents strongly support the local businesses, ” she commented. “The outpouring of enthusiasm for our bakery has been wonderful. The chef and I are extemely excited to be new members of this community."

L’Atelier’s seasonal specialties for the upcoming holidays include:

1. Pumpkin Crème Brulee
   
2. Pumpkin Cheesecake
   
3. Buche de Noel in various flavors: mocha Opera, chocolate ganache, and Grand Marnier
   
4. Honey Pecan Tart

The chef’s year-round specialties include a chocolate ganache cake, comprised of a chocolate sponge cake layered with a mix of chocolate and heavy cream, Opera cake (almond sponge cake layered with chocolate ganache, mocha buttercream, and coffee syrup) and a vanilla cream strawberry shortcake. Roudiere also creates a variety of savory mousses – chocolate, hazelnut praline, cappuccino, raspberry, passion fruit, apple, banana, citrus, Grand Marnier, and Bailey’s Irish Cream, all of which are smooth, light, and not too sweet.

Wedding cakes and other special orders, such as hors d’oeuvres, crepes, sandwich platters, pastry platters, chocolate truffles, or gift baskets are available on request. L’Atelier also provides catering for all occasions.

A third generation chef, Alain Roudiere was born and raised in southwestern France, just 60 miles from the border of Spain. After attending culinary school in pastry arts, he moved to the United States and worked in San Francisco and New York. In Westchester, he was the original pastry chef at The Castle at Tarrytown and several years later, was invited to join the team at Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

Dooyon Cho comes to the bakery world from a more roundabout route. A graduate of Wellesley College, Cho spent three years in the Equity Capital Markets Group at JPMorgan Chase in Manhattan. A year ago, she left the finance world with the intention of heading to law school, but soon veered from that path to join forces with Roudiere.“

L’Atelier Gourmet Bakery is located at 2135 Palmer Avenue in Larchmont, NY. The bakery is open seven days a week. For more information, call 914-834-6004.

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