Today we’d like to introduce you to Sylvain Piffeteau.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sylvain. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Sylvain Piffeteau and I am 25 years old. I was born on September 26, 1994 in a little town near Paris. I lived there until I moved to Los Angeles a year and a half ago. In France, there is what we call the “sandwich course” which is a combination of work and training. This is what have done and at the age of 15 I started working in a company while I was still studying at school. After getting my diploma in cooking, I studied 3 more years and got two other degrees – specialized this time, in pastry. I worked as an apprentice for 6 years in reputable restaurants and pastry shops before getting my first job as a pastry chef. I worked for 3 years with an amazing chef, Nicolas Bernardé (Best Worker of France/Meilleur Ouvrier de France in french with the collar on the jacket🇫🇷). I learned a lot from him and his great team and will always be grateful for this awesome experience.
Then, during some hollidays with some friends in LA (I always liked the USA and its culture) I found this famous pastry shop La Chouquette on Melrose avenue. I went to introduce myself and gave the owner my email because “who knows” right? and 6 months later the company contacted me to offer me a job as a pastry chef. From there, I was able to be sponsored by the company and get a visa to come work in Los Angeles. Now, I am always working on developing my creativity and make the Californian customers happy!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Overall, things are never always easy for anyone. For my part, I did not choose the easiest way when I decided to move across the world and pursue my passion in Los Angeles. I had to start a new life in a new country which was not always simple. I had to adapt myself to a different country in my job and also in my personal life. Job-wise, I had to work on the recipes I brought from France for example. Cakes that were really appreciated in France were too sour or too sweet for the American customers. So first, I was surprised because my recipes were good and liked in France, but then I learned and it is not the same here in California: people take more care of their appearance, their body… Therefor, I worked on some of my recipes to find the good deal that both American and French customers would love.. Another difficulty that I faced was the big change from working with a pretty big team (I used o work with 15 other pastry chefs In France) to working by myself or with only two or three other people. Sometimes it can be easier to work alone but it depends on what and how much you have to do. Finally, learning the laws and rules in a kitchen at the beginning was hard because they are pretty different from the French ones and it is something that you don’t really expect, but now it is all good! 🙂
Tell us more about the company.
The name of the company is LA Chouquette It was created three years ago. We are specialized in French pastries and gluten free eclairs. The owners of the bakery are a French couple. Originallly, they were not in the pastry industry but they got this idea to make eclairs and chouquettes with a gluten free dough and that is what makes the difference of the pastry shop. For information, the ”Chouquette” is a type of pastry that is a small portion of choux pastry sprinkled with pearl sugar. They are deliciously golden, crispy on the outside, and soft and hollow on the inside. It’s a classic Pastry in France: every bakery has it. And we use the same dough for the eclairs. At the shop, we also sell plain croissants, chocolate croissants and plenty other kinds of croissants/ viennoiseries (almond, raspberry…). My job is to bake all the desserts/ cakes that you will find in the refrigerated show case – like the eclairs (pastries filled with different cream, jam, ganache, etc) I also bake everyday different kind of tarts and cakes. Flavors change every weeks depending on the season, on my ideas and what we can get as raw materials. But you will always find the best sellers like the chocolate eclair or the raspberry tart!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
To be honest, I don’t think that luck has played a big role in my life/ professional life.. For me, it has something to do with hard work, will and passion. It is thanks to those qualities that you always go forward, go higher in life and in business. I think that my work, my will (of always getting better, of moving to Los Angeles…) and my passion had big roles in my life.
Pricing:
- Croissant 3,90$
- Individual Cakes 8/9 $
- Eclair 6/7$
- Sandwich 12/13$
- Tart for 6p 30$
Contact Info:
- Address: 7350 Melrose Avenue, 90036
- Website: https://www.lachouquette.com/
- Phone: 424 362 4380
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Sylvain_sly_piffeteau / Lachouquetteofficial
- Facebook: Sylvain Piffeteau / La Chouquette official
Image Credit:
Sylvain Piffeteau
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