Portrait of Petite #19 - Élodie Geoffroy

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Élodie Geoffroy, a passionate petite pastry chef at 1m62 tall. Find out more about her background and daily routine.

For total immersion in Élodie's world, we invite you to make the Yule log recipe she shared with us (recipe here and video on our Instagram here).

I've always dreamed of opening my own tea room. I decided to take the plunge and retrain. I went from being a mosaic teacher to a pastry chef!

Can you start by introducing yourself?

My name is Élodie Geoffroy, I'm 1m62 tall and I'm the mother of 3 children. One is 22 years old and two are 11 and 8 years petites .

Pastry-making runs in the family. I took a CAP in pastry-making to pursue my dream of opening a tearoom. Then I opened "Ô Gourmandises d'Ange" with the help of my husband, who was a carpenter at the time. He decided to follow me on this great adventure, and also trained as a pastry chef.

Can you tell us about your background?

My background is rather artistic. I began with a degree in art history at Nanterre, then taught mosaics for 12 years.

Ever since petite, I've dreamed of opening my own tearoom. I'm the daughter and petite of restaurateurs, and they're the ones who passed this desire on to me.

I've always loved making cakes, I used to make a lot of them at home, and as I come from an artistic background, this reconversion came about quite naturally. I've never found it very difficult to do what I've been asked to do.

I finally decided to take the plunge a few years ago, did a CAP in pastry-making and went from mosaic teacher to pastry chef. I then created "Ô Gourmandises d'Ange" in 2016.

What did your conversion involve?

I did a CAP in pastry-making. The CAP I chose was an obvious choice. It was a short course in just 1 year, dedicated to adults. We were all retraining in the class, which created a special atmosphere among us. We were very close-knit. It was a hands-on course, and since then I've continued to train regularly. I do internships with patissiers and brands to maintain and deepen my knowledge.

What triggered this EDIT of direction? I was pregnant with Emmy, my petite , and I thought it was time to make this big EDIT.

Did you find the world of pastry-making difficult to access for women?

I was in a fairly mixed class, with an equal number of male and female teachers. Thanks to my good grades, I never had any trouble finding an internship. I don't think the job is any easier for men, you just have to be motivated and serious.

However, I have to admit that it would have been complicated to go it alone. I've always been well supported. Thanks to Olivier, my husband, who decided to follow me on this great adventure. When we opened Ô Gourmandises d'Ange, we had trouble finding staff who matched our expectations. That's why Olivier decided to make the switch himself, giving up carpentry to learn pastry! Olivier is self-taught - he never took a course, he learned everything by himself. I wouldn't recommend going it alone, whether you're a man or a woman.

Could you describe a typical day at the patisserie?

Olivier arrives around 7/8am and starts making the cakes in the window. I join him to help, usually around 9am. Customers arrive around 11am. The tea room closes around 6:30 and 7pm. But our day is far from over!

From 7pm onwards, we take care of custom orders. One of our specialties is cake design. Cakes aresculpted and decorated with fondant, sugar paste and icing. Often, they represent an object or an animal. Olivier starts with the basics and I take care of the decoration. For example, for a little teddy bear, it takes about 2h/2H30, so it's very meticulous.

And the pace isn't too hard to keep up?

I have to admit that the pace is quite sporty, as there's the tea room to keep up with during the day, as well as the orders that have to be completed. Personally, I love cake design, but it's very time-consuming and we lack the resources to respond properly to all the requests. We sometimes go to bed at 5am or not at all! We sometimes pull all-nighters to finalize orders.

To make up for this, we've come up with some solutions. We offer cakes that are Thes time-consuming for us (and therefore Thes expensive for them), but just as good!

Does running a patisserie go well with family life?

It's a rhythm you have to get into, and there are advantages and disadvantages. It's true that on weekends, we're not like a "real family". We don't go to jardin d'acclimatation or do any leisure activities. It's often big brother who looks after the petites. But having said that, running this place also frees us up. When they finish school early, they can join us in the tea room, and that's great! If I worked in an office, I probably wouldn't have all these little moments together during the week.

As my parents were restaurateurs, I was prepared for this particular rhythm. Even as a petite, I used to meet my parents at the restaurant after school, and I loved it!

What sets Ô Gourmandises d'Ange apart from other pastry shops?

The feedback we get from our customers is that we're one of the best patisseries in Puteaux, because everything is homemade with love - from the cookie to the decor, from A to Z. We try to use the best products: cream from Normandy, chocolate from Valrhona. We try to use the best products: cream from Normandy, chocolate from Valrhona, we only use top-of-the-range ingredients. What sets us apart, I think, is quality. At "Ô Gourmandise d'Ange", our aim is to offer good food in every sense of the word!

We are also very close to our customers. One of the pillars of Ô Gourmandises d'Ange is customer satisfaction. We offer original services, cakes that you can't necessarily reproduce at home, or that you're not used to tasting. The variety we offer and the flexibility of our teams enable us to respond as effectively as possible to the requests we receive.

Does being petite in this profession hold you back?

I have to admit that sometimes it's difficult, because in the end, I'm always asking Oliver to help me grab this and that. In kitchens, storage units are often placed high up to save space. By the way, II've already fallen from a stepladder. I don't recommend climbing everywhere like I did!

So I've developed a petites techniques. To grab the cooking thermometer tray, I take a spatula and slide the tray around to grab it!

Do you have any advice for petites who'd like to start their own business?

It's absolutely essential to draw up a business plan. You can't launch a business without thinking ahead. It took me 2 years to draw it up, and yet there are still things I wouldn't do again. You need to be well supported, know how to surround yourself and never hesitate to ask for help. I recommend that you don't set up your business on your own, but with the right support. Patisserie isn't just about love, it's also about hard work and discipline.

Finally, a few questions to get to know you better:

Something you hate doing in the tea room?

I'd love to do more patisserie, but entrepreneurship also means a lot of paperwork. Speaking of cakes, I hate icing eclairs!

Your best memory?

Recently, we were lucky enough to experience a timeThes moment at the show. A petite girl sang "Little Papa Noël", and the whole room fell silent to hear her, a moment of pure happiness.

Your favorite pastry flavors?

I'm a big fan of roses, and it's fitting that here in Puteaux, the perfumers' rose was grown here in the 19th century. So we have a lot of rose-based products: marshmallows, meringues... In fact, the cake we recently won the "Elle & Vire" competition was "Lovely Rose", a raspberry cake with a hint of rose!

Three things that never leave you?

There's a photo of my daughters in my wallet and on the wallpaper of my cell phone, there's a photo of my son. My family is always with me, it's indispensable.

A small lucky scarab in my purse, which must have come from Egypt, is a gift that never leaves me.

My teddy bear that I had as a child. He's no longer in very good condition and is even a bit scary, but he still sits on a shelf in my bedroom.

What can we wish you for the future?

To develop the course part, because we feel there's a demand for it, and for us, sharing is essential!

Ô Gourmandises d'ange" has already been around for 7 years, and we're hoping for at least another 7!

Thanks Élodie!

December 18, 2022 - Elsa Sarracanie

Tagged: portrait petite

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