New York is infamous for its eateries and for many is considered the centre of the world’s food industry thanks to being home to some of the best and most unique street food vendors, cafes, bakeries and restaurants. Some may think that the food industry in the city is fully saturated but surely there’s always room for another new eatery in the big apple?
West Village in New York is now home to a new and innovate bakery on Barrow Street, Seventh Avenue South, opened by acclaimed French pastry chef, Philippe Conticini. The world-renowned dessert chef has taken over a 3,000 square-feet space for his first ever American bakery, filling the lower floor with dining space for eating in and displays of tasty treats for take-out, while saving an upstairs second floor for private events.
Who’s the Chef Behind La Maison De Makoto?
Many will be familiar with Conticini’s other bakeries which take residence in France, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi and at one-time, London. The chain of bakeries known was ‘La Pâtisserie des Rêve’, or ‘Pastry Shop of Dreams’, are designed to showcase bakes inspired by Philippe’s childhood and are traditional to his background as a chef at a fine dining restaurant in France.
Conticini provides the culinary skill behind the project but the business has been funded and created in collaboration with hedge fund manager, YomiRodrig who has provided the investment to create the bakery and Yomi himself is using his own experiences in business to offer guidance to his son, Andrea and the pastry chef on how to make La Maison De Makoto New York’s most successful bakery.
What’s It All About?
The theme of La Maison De Makoto is a fusion of Japanese and French bakes, some of the tasty goods are made to match authentic expectations whereas others are a fusion of the two cuisines, such as mochi with gelato. The bakery and café may be based upon the traditions of French and Japanese eateries; however, the general atmosphere of the establishment caters for the traditional New York foodie and all the goods have been designed with a westernised twist to appeal to the wider market.
The brand aspires to be in their own words, ‘the premium provider of bite-size gelato mochi, innovative pastries and trendy salty bites in New York City’, and to keep up with America’s growing high standards for quality and equality in the food industry, La Maison De Makoto promise to use all-natural flavours, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial ingredients and offer options suitable for the gluten free market.
The above is just a snapshot of what Conticini and the bakery team are aiming to promise and provide with their bakes, so to learn more about their vision for the café and the way they make their bakes, be sure to explore the La Maison De Makoto website!
Exclusive to New York
La Maison De Makoto, which translates to ‘Makoto’s House’, is currently exclusive to New York, with the only branch of the bakery being located in West Village, although there is talk that the name could soon be popping up on street corners and at food festivals all over America. The vision for the brand is to create a side project that sees pop up versions of the cafe selling the fresh bakes of La Maison De Makoto to workers, shoppers and resident from all states of America.
First Stop New York, Next Stop Boston
The whole team behind the bakery, including chef PhillipeConticini and investor YomiRodrig, have big hopes for the business and are already in talks about creating a second permanent location in New York, as well as taking the name across the country to Boston, where they feel their authentic French and Japanese inspired bakes with an American style twist will be well received.
But What Do the People of NYC Think?
Choosing New York as your opening location for a new business is always going to be a bold choice due to the sheer competition in the area but the locals of West Village and beyond seem to be loving La Maison De Makoto, with the LMDM group Instagram page having over 1,400 followers and the people of the New York Eater website featuring the bakery in an exclusive article before the official opening, so if you want to see what journalist Serena Dai thought of La Maison De Makoto before it’s launch, have a read here!
If you want to try tasty pastries, salty bites or mochi with gelato, fresh from the hands of patisserie pioneer Philippe Conticini, head to 74-76 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10014 next time you’re in the area and pay Philippe Conticini, YomiRodrig, his son Andrea and the rest of the team a visit!