GABY
ET JULES
A PASSION FOR PASTRY
MURRYSVILLE RESIDENT DAVID PIQUARD REALIZES A DREAM HELD FOR THREE GENERATIONS.
BY PAMELA PALONGUE
A FEW DECADES AGO, IN THE ALSACE-LORRAINE REGION OF
France, a small eight-year-old boy stood at his grandfather’s side
and helped him to prepare fine French pastry. The delicate science of
creating macarons, galettes and tartelettes was skillfully done by the auto
mechanic. Yes, that’s right—an auto mechanic.
Chef patissier David Piquard was first exposed to the art of
pastry by his grandfather, Jules, who dreamed of one day owning
his own patisserie. Unfortunately he was unable to break free of
the work to which he had been relegated and was never able to
accomplish his dream. Piquard’s father, also an auto mechanic,
longed for the opportunity to work with elegant confections, but,
like Jules, was unable to make the difficult transition. Piquard’s
story is quite different.
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He received his formal training as a chef de cuisine at a culinary
school in France. While working in some of the finest restaurants
in Paris, it was quickly realized that he possessed a gift for creating
fine pastry, and some described him as having “la main d’or” or
“the golden hand.” Despi