This Montreal patisserie was named among the best pastry shops in the world
No other Canadian spots made the list. 🏆 🥐
Pastry chefs at work. Right: Croissants.
Montrealers know we're spoiled when it comes to baked treats — from croissants to macarons, plus Quebec classics like sugar pie, it sometimes feels like you can't go more than a block without passing a pastry shop so enticing it threatens to ruin your appetite for the rest of the day.
While our status as the pastry capital of Canada is pretty undeniable, at least to us locals, the real question is: How do Montreal patisseries stack up against the rest of the world's patisseries? And, yes... that includes France.
Well, according to a recent award from LA LISTE, a Paris-based restaurant ranking and advocate for local and international gastronomic tourism, Montreal is home to one of the world's best pastry shops.
At its first International Pastry Forum in Paris this summer, LA LISTE recognized 25 pastry chefs and owners across 14 countries in various "Pastry Special Awards" categories.
Among this year's global pastry champs: Montreal's Farine & Cacao, the only Canadian spot to make the list.
Owned by Christian Campos, Farine & Cacao was named one of the "best pastry shops to explore in 2024" — an awards category dedicated to emerging hidden gems "worth going the extra mile for," as per the LA LISTE website.
"Montreal pâtisserie Farine & Cacao is a treasure trove of contemporary artisanal pastry, oriented around innovation, elegance, and respect for the fine craft of French pastry," LA LISTE says on its website.
"At Farine & Cacao his specialties include classic viennoiseries as well as flavoured croissants such as raspberry and Gianduja, and intricate entremets of Pistachio & Raspberry, Mango & Passion, and Chocolate & Caramel, alongside handmade chocolate bars of impeccable quality."
On his Instagram page, Campos — previously a pastry sous chef at the Ritz-Carlton's Maison Boulud and Société des chefs, cuisiniers et pâtissiers du Québec Pastry Chef of the Year in 2015 and 2016 — thanked his family, friends and collaborators, calling the award an "honour."
In order to curate its rankings, LA LIST says it compiles "thousands of publications, hundreds of guidebooks, and millions of online reviews."
To try the acclaimed Farine & Cacao patisserie for yourself, head to 1315, rue Ontario E. Don't forget to bring your sweet tooth!