The age of ‘Pastryarchy’

The local food scene has changed completely in the last one decade. Food, especially desserts, have been revamped. The 21st century mass is constantly roving on a quest to explore the array of new flavours and are tantalised by the possibilities of contemporary, complex, yet delectable cuisines.

Desserts in general have moved ahead of conventional sweetmeat, cakes and cookies; the spotlight now falls upon the new breed of bakers and culinary artists to really step up their game.

Pastryarchy, the brainchild of Elma Arifeen and Naveed Masum, started out in 2018. The impulsive decision to start a new bakery took them on a journey that saw them transforming the local scene with their own range of ground-breaking gourmet sweet items.

Pastryarchy is much more than another dessert vendor trying to convince a consumer to purchase their product. Even as a small online business, their core marketing and operations are set by fixing weekly goals and dissecting them into smaller measurable steps.

Arifeen, who holds a degree in patisserie from France, had a dream to start her own modernist style dessert place in Bangladesh. Masum, on the other hand, is an engineer with a knack for marketing and business development!

Their unique bakery specialises in contemporary desserts that taste as marvellous as they look. Their Instagram feed is a true visual treat, with every element of every dessert, starting from the ambrosial flavours to the strikingly synchronous colour schemes, is the perfect amalgam of the baker's imagination and meticulous workmanship.

One can tell from the elegant appearances and the exquisite tastes of her creations that the baker, Arifeen, who interned at a Michelin starred restaurant before starting this venture, really puts her heart and soul into the food she makes.       

One of their all-time crowd favourites is the Tart Citron Meringue, or put simply — Lemon Meringue Tarts, that come in a trio of flavourful tarts and cost Tk 400.

The chef describes it as "the perfect balance of zing, sugar, cream and crunch!"

From their cake cart, "OJ in your Cocoa" and "Take Me to Opera" taste as good as their names sound. The former celebrates a chocolate-orange flavour with an almond sponge, almond praline made in-house, spiced orange gelée covered in orange-zested couverture dark chocolate mousse.

Moreover, the Opera Cake is one in which the chef embeds a little piece of France in her own version of a classic French cake and it is a luscious concoction of chocolate and coffee. The beauty of this cake lies in its many layers. These delicacies cost Tk 2,500 and Tk 1,500 per kilogram respectively. Other bestsellers include their mousses and the Japanese Cotton Cheesecake.

On the other hand, the Carrot Cake, one of the simplest items on their menu, is the baker's personal favourite.

"I developed this cake's recipe years ago before serving it on multiple events/occasions and every time, I've been told by people, even at culinary school, that it's the best carrot cake they've ever had," said Arifeen. Furthermore, she surpasses her excellent culinary expertise and delves deeper into aesthetic artistry when she recreates another special brilliant piece — the Van Gogh "Starry Night" Cake.

"We always try to deliver both product and emotional value to our customers, while trying to establish our brand identity when creating new offers," Masum elaborated, as he believes in promoting and connecting with their customers in interactive ways.

In fact, recently, the Pastriarchs, much to their customers' delights, started selling their season-special "Summer Tart" boxes, containing four mouth-watering tarts.

You can keep a lookout on their social media handles for their upcoming exciting dessert-box offers.

Passionate about creating demand for new food and new food experiences for a crowd that craves more than the mundane delicacies already available in the market, Pastryarchy definitely stands out as they bring something new to the table with their desserts that are artistic in appearance and divinely delicious in taste.

Each of their items is like something out of your sweetest dessert dream. What's more is that their near future plans include capturing storefront presence and introducing Pastryarchy condiments.

So, be it the bakery market or your taste buds, you better believe that Pastryarchy is here to rule!

Photo courtesy: Pastryarchy

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