La Patisserie des Reves - Philippe Conticini, Thierry Teyssier

La Patisserie des Reves (translating literally as The Patisserie of Dreams) is the name of the world famous French pastry shops; the brainchild of pastry chef Philippe Conticini and entrepreneur and hotelier Thierry Teyssier. With four shops already open in France, the first shop in London opened in March, bringing traditional French patisserie with a modern twist to the British capital. Their recipe book of the same name published in French in 2012 is published in English to coincide with this historic opening. The book contains over 70 recipes for their signature pastries, recipes include the traditional Saint Honore (choux pastry, cream and caramel topping) and Paris-Brest (choux pastry with praline cream and praline sauce). Philippe Conticini has worked as a pastry chef for many years, including a stint at La Table d'Anvers restaurant in Paris. He and business partner Thierry Teyssier, who had already set up a theatre company, an events company and a similarly-named hotel company Maisons des Reves launched the Patisserie des Reves concept after deciding that they wanted a pastry shop that would recreate the excitement children feel about fresh cakes.