Pastry queens

An Indian chef who opened a patisserie in Jaipur and a Syrian chef with two pastry shops in the heart of Paris tell Datshiane Navanayagam about adding new layers to French classics.

After training at le Cordon Bleu school in Paris Tejasvi Chandela returned to her hometown of Jaipur to open Dzurt, the first pastry shop in the city. She also teaches masterclasses at cookery schools around the world to show to what extent the techniques and flavours of Indian mithai are compatible with modern European-style pastry.

Myriam Sabet has two pastry shops in Paris. Originally from Syria Myriam’s first career was in finance but she changed direction to baking after the birth of her daughter. She founded Maison Aleph with her husband where she focuses on crunchy pastry which reminds her of the sweets of her youth. Myriam brings together classic French pastries with a twist, like crispy phyllo nests featuring pistachio and ice cream enriched with za’atar, honey, and apricot.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Myriam Sabet credit Jacques Gavard. (R) Tejasvi Chandela credit Bhuvan Gaur.)