The World's Great Patisseries: A Pilgrim's Guide

The croissant has become a global symbol, mass-produced and mediocre in airports and chain cafes worldwide. This makes the experience of a genuinely great croissant — eaten within an hour of leaving the oven, flaked with perfectly laminated layers, shatteringly crisp outside and deeply buttery within — all the more revelatory.

Great patisserie is one of the world's most demanding craft forms, requiring years of technical training and an obsessive attention to quality. These are the addresses worth planning a trip around:

**Paris**: Du Pain et des Idées (dupainetdesidees.com) in the 10th arrondissement produces what many consider the finest croissants in Paris. Pierre Hermé (pierreherme.com) is the undisputed master of the macaron — his Ispahan (rose, lychee, raspberry) is one of the defining confections of the last twenty years. Cédric Grolet (cedricgrolet.com) at the Meurice has elevated pastry to the status of fine art with his sculptural fruit tarts.

**Tokyo**: Japan has a culture of patisserie excellence that rivals France's — and in some categories surpasses it. Sadaharu Aoki (sadaharuaoki.com) applies French pastry technique to Japanese ingredients (yuzu, matcha, black sesame) with extraordinary results. INUA (inuafood.com), the Tokyo outpost of Copenhagen's Noma, applies Nordic foraging philosophy to Japanese seasonal ingredients.

**New York**: Dominique Ansel Bakery (dominiqueansel.com) — birthplace of the Cronut — continues to produce thoughtful, technically excellent pastry beyond its viral invention. Lysee (lyseenyc.com) in the Flatiron brings Korean-influenced pastry sensibility to sophisticated New York.

**London**: Bonne Bouche Patisserie and Hamish Johnston in Clapham represent the quiet excellence of the London neighbourhood patisserie movement. For an occasion, Claridge's Afternoon Tea (claridges.co.uk) remains the most beautiful in the world.

**The Pairing**: A warm croissant, a glass of fresh orange juice, a flute of good Champagne — this is the Platonic form of the morning pastry experience, and a mimosa at its most elegant.