Claire Damon, New Girl on the Block

Take a look at this woman because, while you may be seeing her here first, I think you'll be seeing her lots more in many more places. Her name is Claire Damon and she's 29, talented, soft-spoken, rosy-cheeked and the only woman to have her own pastry shop in Paris. And what a shop it is.  Hardly your corner bakery, Damon's des Gateaux et du Pain, which lives up to its name and sells both cakes (and tarts and cookies, too) and handsome handcrafted breads, is sleek, sexy and very sophisticated.  If you know Pierre Herme's shop on the rue Bonaparte, you'll have an idea about Damon's, since they were both designed by Yann Pennor's and both look more like luxe jewelry shops than patisseries.

The interior of the shop is black, white, spacious and dramatically lit; the ambient lighting is dim and a bit moody and the spotlights are just where they should be: shining on the wall of baguettes, the pyramids of preserves, the piles of rustic loaves and the simple, minimally decorated sweets.

On a recent visit to the two-month-old boutique, the long, narrow windows were showcasing still-life quality brioches and madeleines and a woman in white was meticulously arranging a basket of bread.  Asked if she was the chef, she stood tall, looked me in the eyes, smiled and said, "Oui, and the owner and salesgirl, too."

I don't think she'll be salesgirling for long - I can see her having to take time off soon for a few fashion shoots and tv spots (she's too gifted and beautiful not to be rushed by the media) -nor can I see her having a long-term hold on the distinction of being the sole woman pastry chef with her own shop.  Since she was trained by Pierre Herme (you can taste that training in her tarts), and since Pierre told me that more and more women are coming to his pastry school, Claire Damon may become a role model and trendsetter. For now, she's a singular sensation.

des Gateaux et du Pain, 63, blvd Pasteur, Paris 15

Comments

[Dorie]

Terri, I can't thank you enough for sending me this story. I love it and am so happy to be part of it!

[Terri]

Hi Dorie - I've been meaning to write to you about this for quite some time now and just now had a moment to sit down and tell you this really nice story about your blog posting on des Gateaux et du pain and my friend Kat Kwuan.
Kat and I were classmates at City College of San Francisco's culinary program a few years ago. She's considerably younger than me; I am a career-changer who exchanged her consultant's hat for a chef's toque. As she considered me as her mentor, I took it upon myself to take her with me to Paris 2 years ago on a trip that was organized by one of our management instructors. Included in this Paris romp was a visit to Ecole Ferrandi, where we were given a detailed tour of the culinary school and had a delicious 4-course lunch in their dining room. Kat, then only 19, was smitten and inspired by the school and set her sights on one day attending Ferrandi as a student. Two years later, after completing a year as a pasty cook at the Ritz Carlton here in San Francisco, she applied and was accepted to Ferrandi.
Just last May, she graduated from their baking and pastry program and I flew out to spend a week with her and attend her graduation. It was wonderful to see her transformation -- a year in Paris really did wonders for that girl! She's much more sure of herself and completely obsessed with desserts and viennoiserie. I cry (happily!) every time I think about how she's grown and matured living on her own and studying in Paris.
Interestingly enough, this is where your blog comes in: in March, at the same time you posted your blog about Claire Damon, Kat was in a dilemma about where to go for a 3-month stage to complete her training. She tried out at several shops in Paris only to be disappointed in the atmosphere, the culture and the personalities of the different chefs she met. Crying to me one day online, about having no where else to go, I decided to help her from San Francisco; asking everyone I knew in the pastry industry here where they could recommend Kat to visit and perhaps stage. Wringing our hands, coming up empty-handed every time, I sought out your blog and website out of desperation. Thinking, "well, Dorie Greenspan's books are fabulous, she lives in Paris part of the year, perhaps her blog will feature a place tucked away from the mainstream that we haven't yet heard of." Et voila! That same week, you posted your blog about Claire. I sent the link to Kat and within days, she had already met Madame Damon and done a try-out with her. I went to visit the shop while I was in Paris at the end of May and it's beautiful. Simply stunning. The desserts are gorgeous and the breads are quite perfect. It was the perfect place for Kat -- she needed a shop that was fairly small, not well-known but popular enough to have a steady stream of business; and it was important for her to work under a female chef. She's learned so much in her short time there and is really enjoying herself.

My wonderful friend Kat is about 6 weeks away from completing her stage with Claire and both of us thank you from our hearts!

[laura @ cucina testa rossa]

oh how exciting! yet another reason to get back to paris asap! merci for sharing :)