Bakery has become a specialist sector as increasingly knowledgeable consumers demand more. The bakers are more than happy to oblige as Jamie Knights discovers

1 Something special?

There has been a notable rise in the number of speciality stores in the region and bakery has not been overlooked in this respect.

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It comes as little surprise that the bakery sector has been part of a bigger rise in the pastry business over the last 10 years, according to Julien Patera, GM of Cakery & Epicerie (C&E) by Stéphane Glacier.

Stéphane Glacier’s popularity has been growing since he became Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2000, and the master baker’s first shop outside of France recently opened in Dubai on the Palm Jumeirah.
“Today, things are evolving, the pâtisseries are becoming trendy spots and the pastry chefs are real celebrities,” Patera asserts.

“Boulangeries do not benefit from this new trend, it is the pâtisseries and especially the single-product specialty stores such as choux pastry, macaron, snacking chic, and other similar concepts that are booming.”

Tablez Food Company (behind Bloomsbury’s UAE) general manager Sajan Alex says that consumers have become increasingly educated in terms of what they can get and “to some extent also made them into a more discerning clientele”.

“They are looking at their cakes and pastries from the decorative as well as quality angle,” he asserts.

And head chef at La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie in the Vida Downtown Dubai, Izu Ani, believes “people are understanding and appreciating quality more”.

“Dubai has seen a recent rise in these specialty stores and it is exciting for me as it means we can start to enjoy the same quality here as we have in Europe,” he adds.

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