Maison Bertaux

An example of the food served at Maison Bertaux, 2008

Maison Bertaux is a French pâtisserie in Greek Street, Soho, London. The shop began in 1871, making it the oldest pâtisserie in London. The current owners are sisters Michelle and Tania Wade.[1]

Maison Bertaux

Maison Bertaux was founded in 1871 by a French communard from Paris named Mr Bertaux.[2] It is situated at 28 Greek Street, Soho, London, next door to the Coach and Horses pub;[3] Maison Bertaux is the oldest pâtisserie shop in London.[1][4][5] Since 1988, the owners of Maison Bertaux are sisters Michelle and Tania Wade;[1][2] Michelle has been at the pâtisserie since she was 17 years old. When they took over ownership of the shop, the shop only served one type of tea; it now serves twenty varieties.[6] In 2000, the pâtisserie delivered a traditional wedding cake to a Birmingham wedding party.[3] The pâtisserie contains a piano with a copy of The Art of French Baking on top of it, and three of the mirrors in the shop contain the inscriptions Liberté, égalité, fraternité.[1][7] To celebrate Bastille Day, the shop creates a Tableau vivant.[8] The shop is situated near to the former location of Central Saint Martins art school,[lower-alpha 1] and also has an art gallery situated on the upper floor, which is owned by the Wade sisters.[4][6] In 2013, the gallery hosted an exhibition of Harry Hill's paintings of celebrities including Bruce Forsyth, Ken Livingstone and Anthea Turner.[10] The upper floor is also used as auditorium with capacity 20.[3]

Visitors to the pâtisserie have included Derek Jarman,[11] Steve McQueen, Howard Hodgkin, Grayson Perry, Nicole Kidman and Bob Geldof. The pâtisserie also made Lily Allen's wedding cake, and hosted Alexander McQueen's 25th birthday party.[4][6][12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Central Saint Martins relocated to King's Cross in 2011.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lander, Nicholas (6 December 2013). "Festive family treats". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 Lawson, Sandra (9 December 2011). "Maison Bertaux French Patisserie". Weekend Notes. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "A few exceedingly good pastries". London Evening Standard. 9 November 2000. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Beurteaux, Danielle (17 July 2014). "Classic confectionery: Europe's oldest pastry shops". CNN. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Suggs, Lionel (September 2009). Suggs and the City: Journeys through Disappearing London. Hatchette UK. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Vaines, Colin (17 May 2014). "Soho stories: celebrating six decades of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll". The Observer. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "London: Absolute Soho". The Daily Telegraph. 23 October 1999. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Moggach, Tom (26 February 2015). "Maison Bertaux – a timeless slice of London in Greek Street". Camden Review. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Needham, Alex (22 June 2011). "A change of scene for Central Saint Martins". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Newman, Martin (27 January 2013). "TV comic Harry Hill's folk art paintings of celebrity on show in Soho". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Horne, Peter; Lewis, Reina (9 Sep 2002). Outlooks : Lesbian and Gay Sexualities and Visual Cultures. Taylor & Francis Ebooks. p. 167. ISBN 9781134803088.
  12. ↑ O'Flaherty, Mark C. (24 September 2013). "London 1996: The greatest fashion show on Earth". Civilian Global. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

External links

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