Miel Bakery

"When Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef Shaheen Peerbhai — alias Purple Foodie — opened a French boulangerie on Warren Street, Galette des Rois was always going to enjoy a special moment on the menu. A true labour of love, each galette is a three-day process, that begins with puff pastry made using Isigny Sainte-Mère butter and Moulin Dupuis flour for l’authenticité on day one. That gets precisely laminated on the second day, before finally being filled with rich, rum-boosted almond frangipane cream concealing the hidden fève on the third day. Sharp scoring, hot-stone baking, and generous glazing result in a glistening burnished finish that faithfully resembles a crown. Miel Bakery will also offer a weekend special galette, filled with Piedmont hazelnut praline and dotted with 64 percent Valrhona Manajari chocolate, but the traditional Galette des Rois will be available throughout January for pre-order collection, nationwide shipping, and limited in-store purchase at the bakery." - Emma Louise Pudge

"When Shaheen Peerbhai opened French boulangerie Miel on Warren Street, Breton speciality kouign-amann and “shiny AF” chocolate tarts commandeered most of the attention. However, it’s the chocolate chunk, pecan, and sea salt cookies, baked in small batches throughout the day, that have enticed passers-by and secured devoted customers from day one. They have remained on the menu ever since, and these palm-spanning ridged and crinkly cookies, served warm and molten straight from the oven — even baked to order if a customer is prepared to wait — feature extortionate amounts of 70 percent Valrhona chocolate, meticulously cut to size by hand for optimum melt and a satisfying distribution throughout. The dough is properly salty, made with French Charentes butter and Normandy flour to replicate true Parisian patisserie in a city where the use of British whole grains and ancient wheats is so prevalent it’s hard to find a high quality cookie that isn’t of this disposition." - Emma Louise Pudge