The finale approached! For the third edition of French Morning’s Best Croissant New York competition, we invite you to join us at 5th & Mad in Manhattan, on Saturday, April 5, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, to sample products from our bakery finalists. Several prized will be awarded: the Fan Prize for Best Croissant, chosen from your votes on the day; and the Grand Prize for Best Croissant, awarded by a jury of professionals who have blind-tasted the viennoiseries of each candidate. Don’t wait to reserve your place!
Here is the list of ten bakeries you have selected as finalists—thank you for your participation, since nearly 2000 of you voted this year!
Aux Merveilleux de Fred
Since its arrival in the U.S. in January of 2015, the Lille-based shop of Frédéric Vaucamps has continued to expand and produce its signature meringue specialty, Le Merveilleux, which shares window display space with chocolate chip brioches and Flemish waffles… as well as croissants, of course, in each of its three New York boutiques (Upper East Side, Midtown, and the original West Village location, at 37 8th Ave.). Website.
Breads Bakery
Winner of the 2022 Best Baguette New York competition (earning both the Grand Prize and Fan Prize), coming in second last year, and making up for it with a 2023 Best Croissant win (with the Fan Prize and Best Original Creation Prize), Breads Bakery has returned to the list of finalists this year. The bakery, which has committed to using natural and organic ingredients, has expanded since its founding in 2013. Currently, there are five locations: the flagship in Union Square (18 E 16th St.) and the boutiques in Bryant Park, Lincoln Square, Rockefeller Center, and the Upper East Side. Website.
Brooklyn French Bakers
This Brooklyn business has seen rapid growth since its founding in 2022. The founders, a trio of converts to the baking world, came by baking and pastry somewhat by accident and later in life, but are continuing to develop their business with the opening of a second boutique in Park Slope (510 2nd St.), after their flagship in Carroll Gardens (273 Columbia St.). Teddy Collet, Nelly Azambre, and Sabrina Labouré won the jury Grand Prize in the 2023 Best Croissant competition, and they’re looking forward to coming out on top this year! Website.
Je t’aime patisserie
This is the first time that this pastry shop out of BedStuy in Brooklyn (471 Marcus Garvey Blvd), opened at the end of summer in 2023, will participate in the Best Croissant New York competition. But it was an obvious fit for the business’s owner, Jatee Kearsley, a Queens native, whose passion for French cuisine has led her to focus on croissants as her specialty, both sweet and savory. Je T’aime Patisserie, with its soft pink walls and flower garlands, has become in less than two years a popular destination for lovers of viennoiserie, on an unexpected side of town. “A French pastry in the middle of the hood? What?!” joked BKMAG, a few weeks after the shop opened. Website.
Julien Boulangerie
A perfect pâte feuilletée is their signature, and croissants, of their specialties. Julien Khalaf came in second place for the Grand Prize in 2023, and will be aiming for first this year. Former pastry chef of François Payard in Greenwich Village, the baker has opened four Julien Boulangerie locations since December 2020—the first in Park Slope (186 5th Ave., Brooklyn), and three others on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Website.
La Bicyclette
“Quality artisanal products at accessible prices.” That’s the eternal credo of Florent Adreytchenko, the Champagne-born Brooklyn baker known for his organic baguettes, which go for $2 apiece—an unbeatable price in New York—and his traditional viennoiseries, including pain aux raisins, chaussons aux pommes, and croissants! The artisan, who opened his first boutique in 2020 in Williamsburg (667 Driggs Ave.), and then a second in Fort Green (136 Dekalb Ave.), expanded to Carroll Gardens in June of 2023 with a third location (305 Court St.). Website.
La Boulangerie de François
Located in Forest Hills in Queens, Brittany native François Danielo is a regular of French Morning’s competitions. After becoming a baker in 2011, this former engineer became a defender of artisanal quality. He offers a variety of breads, along with pastries and artisanal viennoiseries (croissants, of course, but also kouign-amann, beignets, and more) at La Boulangerie de François (109-01 72nd Rd). Website.
Pistache
Brittany native Yvan Bedouet’s catering company offers traditional French dishes, sweet and savory tarts, cakes, breads, and viennoiseries, which can be ordered for delivery throughout Brooklyn. The French community in New York regularly has the opportunity to enjoy the cuisine of Pistache’s executive chef, Nicolas Buchot, a Maison Kayser alum, particularly at consulate receptions. Pistache won second place last year in the category of Best Original Creation, for its pain de Printemps. Website.
St George Coffee
Straight off the plane from London, St George Coffee participated in the Best Croissant competition right after the opening of its West Village location (74 7th Ave S.) in June 2023. Known in the neighborhood for their oat milk lattes, the crusty bread of their sandwiches, and their no-laptop policy on weekends, the small sun-soaked shop intends to showcase their delicate croissants April 5th at the finale. Website.
Three Daughters Baking Co.
The story of Three Daughters is one about a family, the Leahys. The parents, Erica and Chris, both chefs and parents of three daughters, opened a corner cafe-pastry shop in 2019, within the General Store Cooperative of South Orange-Maplewood in New Jersey. They would later move, after four years, to 12 Vose Avenue, and open their first boutique, just a few minutes from their home and their daughters’ schools. The motto of the couple? “Show the value of hard work” to their children and participate in the lives of their community by contributing their artisanal savoir-faire. This will be their first time participating in the Best Croissant competition. Website.
This article was originally published in French on French Morning. It has been translated by Catherine Rickman.
