After making its presence felt in 25 countries across the world, the 159-year-old French bakery, Laduree, opened up its first India outlet — at Delhi’s Khan Market — on Monday. The first Ladurée outpost in India is spread over 1,800 sqft in a three-storeyed building and can accommodate up to 70 people at a time. It has been conceptualised by Paris-based interior design studio Ravn, and franchised by Delhi-based real estate developers CK Israni Group.
Laduree — created in 1862 — is synonymous with macarons globally, being one of the world’s best-known sellers of the double-decker macaron, 15,000 of which are said to be sold every day. The menu of the Delhi edition will include the classic desserts from Maison Ladurée, including the popular 13 flavours of their classic macarons besides candies, teas and other desserts.
While the restaurant is primarily focused on dine-in at the moment, all the products on offer are also available for takeaways. The ground floor is dedicated to French patisserie and macarons, while the other two floors have been given a dine-in setup, for a typical Laduree salon experience.
“This is one of the first luxury food brands to set foot (in India), especially in the pastry space,” stated Chandni Nath Israni, co-founder and head of the retail division of CK Israni Group.
The Indian kitchen is headed by Chef Godfroy Leinekugel, who has worked with Laduree for five years, at its outlets in Kazakhstan and Russia. His team say they are importing most of the ingredients from Paris, “to keep the quality at par with the international counterparts”.
Internationally, Ladurée has collaborated with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Pharell and Vera Wang to create designer food offerings. In Delhi though, besides signature macarons, most of the menu is comfort food for adults: brunch and high-tea items like avocado toast, eggs benedict, French omelettes and sandwiches, teas and infusions. An Indian edition is a sandwich with tandoori chicken tikka filling.
Incidentally, the Holder family, which took over Laduree in 1993, also owns the PAUL bakery chain in France. Incidentally, after 75 outlets in 45 countries, PAUL — more than 130 years old now – also knocked at the Capital’s doors in 2019, weeks before the lockdown. It has two outlets — in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj and Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. There are other places in Laduree’s vicinity that have macarons as their signature — L’Opera, which made Delhi home in 2008 and has 17 outlets in the city, is just around the corner.
The International expansion of Ladurée started in 2005 with London. Its stores are now also present in 25 countries including Australia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, Qatar, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the US, and the UK. The brand plans to soon set its foot in other metros like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Address: Shop 17 B, Khan Market
Call: 8988888811; Laduree.in