Aux Merveilleux de Fred — Local services in Paris

Chef Frédéric Vaucamps brings back the fun and fantasy of some of France’s most traditional and exclusive pastries at Aux Merveilleux de Fred, his exclusive pastry shops located in cities around the world. The chef is bringing back the elegance of Paris salons of the 18th and 19th centuries with treats that will delight the most demanding palates. Fréderic Vaucamps—born in France in 1963—began his apprenticeship as pastry chef at the age of 14. Fred–as he is affectionally called–is a self—made entrepreneur who developed his knowledge through practice, experimentation, successes, and also failures. In 1982, he and his brother opened a pastry shop that was a complete disappointment. But as often happens with great men, he was not discouraged and continued his personal and professional journey, which has turned him into a modern exponent of the very high standards of creativity and quality characteristic of French haute pâtisserie.

In 1985, Fred discovered in his book collection some confections that left him completely stunned and captivated: a lost recipe from northern France and Flanders for Merveilleux cakes that makes them softer and puffier and adds new flavors like chocolate, and hazelnuts, always using the traditional meringue and whipped cream.

These sweets had been part of France’s sophisticated pastry tradition since the late 18th century, at the time of the Directory, the period that followed the terror of the French Revolution. Under this new regime, high society regained its status. Famous women such as Madame Tallien and Madame Recamier opened their “salons” as meeting places for the nouvelle elegance: The Incroyables and Merveilleuses (The Incredibles and Wonderful). The Incroyables were young gentlemen of effeminate manners, whose only concern was the pursuit of pleasure. Meanwhile, the ladies or Merveilleuses followed fashion norms hat scandalized all Paris, as they wore dresses made of silk and transparent chiffon that resembled the garb of ancient Greek and Roman women.

Vaucamps’ new take on traditional pastries such as the Incroyables and the Merveilleuses brings back their former glory with subtle improvements. The kramiek—a Flemish word for a small brioche bread filled with raisins—first appeared around 1830 in Wallonia and Flanders. In the hands of this sublime baker, these delicacies become ephemeral illusions or small works of art, enhanced with different flavors and a touch of fantasy.

Fifteen years after his initial failure, Fred opened his first store— Aux Merveilleux de Fred—in the French city of Lille, where he improved the recipe for Merveilleux with a meringue covered with whipped cream and dark chocolate chips that melt in the mouth.

His fame has since grown with unique creations of different Merveilleux, such as The Incroyable, The Impensable, The Magnificent, The Sans Cullote, and The Eccentric, as well as his delicious brioches, Les Cramiques with raisins, chocolate, and sugar.

These unique sweets masterfully combine ingredients as appetizing as merengue, handmade cookies, whipped cream, white chocolate, coffee cream, chocolate chips, almonds, hazelnuts, praline, caramel, crystallized cherry and many more.

Following the success of the original shop in Lille, Fred Vacucamps has expanded his cake empire to other cities around the world, including Knokke, Paris, London, Berlin, New York, plus several locations in France, where he makes his legendary sweets in front of the customers, offering an unforgettable and delightful experience. Story courtesy of: GASTRONOMY / SPECIALTY STORES Aux Merveilleux de Fred: The Best Gourmet Pastry...

Yummy chocolate brioche!

I’ve often passed by and looked at the window-display. Yet had always been put off by the enormous amount of people waiting in line. They all come to taste the speciality, some meringue buttercream sandwich. Looks pretty, but not something I would ever want to try. I prefer the brioche. So that’s what I bought. The plain one looked like it had way too many of those huge sugar clumps in it, hence I opted for the chocolate brioche. Taste was very good, not too sweet, maybe a little too much chocolate in the mix. The prize was very fair for a traditional bakery, less than 4,- Euro for a big brioche that you can easily share with a friend. The texture was rich and dense, I liked that. Quite different from the dry brioches you sometimes get. A little closer to the texture of a nice ‚Gache’ actually. Ideally I would like a plain brioche without the sugar decoration. . . so unless they offer that one day, I doubt I’ll be back. Having said that, if you are into traditional French baking and pastry and in the area, you may want to try them! They specialise in the meringue sandwiches and have a few...

I'm not really a lover of meringues but having seen these on various people’s social media I was keen to give them a try. Firstly the boutique is absolutely stunning with a grand chandelier hanging centre-stage upon entering. The staff were extremely friendly as I couldn’t decide wether to try a mini or individual. Someone had told me that the ratio was better in the individual than the mini which was confirmed by the staff member who was assisting us. Having had a large lunch and feeling like something sweet I decided on the individual chocolate Le Merveilleux. Barely making it outside we sat on the sidewalk and opened the box to try. WOW!!!! All I can say is amazing. So light and fluffy, my daughter who was with me didn't want one but after seeing my reaction had to have a bite. She agreed it was unbelievably delicious. I totally recommend a visit here as this is now on my list of places to visit whenever I'm in Paris. The waffles which were thin and beautifully packaged looked...