By Siobhán Rich for Mr. Will Wong
Some people think that writing for Mr. Will Wong is all glamour, red carpets, and movie screenings. What they don’t realize is that sometimes he sends you on really tough assignments like eating pastries at Toronto’s premiere éclair boutique. That is why last night I found myself sampling delectable éclairs at Nugateau on Queen Street West.
Drawing inspiration from the autumn colours of the region, Nugateau’s pastry chefs have created a Fall/Winter collection of éclairs designed to tempt and delight the most discerning of palates. The centre piece of collection is a pairing they call Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is reminiscent of a Ferrero Rocher with its alunga and hazelnut praline ganache with gianduja glaze complete with a delightful crunch provided by chopped hazelnuts and praline grains. On the other side of this fateful romance, Juliet is created with Tanzanian single origin 75% dark chocolate cremeux and a raspberry compote.
Since Nugateau’s chefs create everything in house from the pastry to the glazes and flavoured creams featured in all their éclairs, it is easy to see why they have become so popular with dessert loving Torontonians. Boasting flavours ranging from Matcha Yuzu to the whimsical Cookies ‘n Milk these éclair wizards have created true magic in their kitchens.
If savoury is more up your alley, then I highly recommend the Croque Éclair: a sinful combination of smoked ham, gruyere, and béchamel with onion confit and mustard. Boring old sandwiches for lunch will never suffice again!
From their iconic The 6ix Maple Crème to their delightfully tart Lemon Bergamot Meringue, Nugateau’s scrumptious Fall/Winter collection is a surefire hit. I know I’ll be heading back for seconds thirds again soon.
Visit http://nugateau.com for more.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, what better way to say “I love you” than with something truly decadent? Not that we’d turn away flowers and chocolates in a heart-shaped box, but we’d really be wowed by some authentic Parisian Éclairs from NUGATEAU... not to be confused with a villain from Zoolander.
From the same Le Cordon Bleu-trained mind of Jelly Modern Doughnuts and Brick Street Bakery, Atul Palghadmal, comes Toronto’s first Éclair-only Patisserie situated right at discerning and tastemaking Queen and Bathurst.
The cute shop offering both savoury and sweet options are a cut above anything else we’ve tried in the city. The thin Pâte à Choux, identical to that you’d get in a proper Cream Puff, is filled with just the right amount of crème so not to spill-over into a catastrophic mess. We’ve been there.
We had the pure delight of trying Mango-Passionfruit, Matcha, Persian Pistachio and Raspberry, all which tasted equally as good as they looked. A closer examination reveals shimmery edible glitter on the glaze and we felt rather elevated eating the decadent Raspberry garnished with a real, thin gold flake.
A perusal of their savoury options has us v. intrigued. Smoked Salmon with Avocado and Wasabi Crème or Foie Gras with Truffle excite us deeply and are next on our list. And did we really see a Chinese New Year–themed Éclair too?!
We dare you not to be hypnotized. Watch at your own risk.
NUGATEAU is located at 717 Queen Street West, Toronto.
Learn more about NUGATEAU here:
http://www.facebook.com/nugateau
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
For advertising opportunites please contact mrwill@mrwillwong.com