the market.

Macarons for May!

5 minutes with our patisserie queen - Meg Bailey

We are thrilled to be bringing you something extra fun, and extra scrumptious for our Autumn Market....those lovely little biscuits that hail from France, macarons.

Meg Bailey from ‘Patisserie Antoinette’ joins us for the first time on May 15th with her selection of decadent delights, the perfect tiny treat to enjoy with a lovely Barista Sista coffee in our lounge upstairs.

A couple of Meg’s favourite macaron’s from her repertoire thus far include rose shells with white chocolate butter cream ganache and coconut shells with dark chocolate butter cream ganache... we’ll have one of each please!

When did you begin baking sweet treats?
I’ve grown up with a love for food as my parents have always enjoyed being in the kitchen and have involved my sister and I in food preparation. We all have enjoyed eating and discovering different types of food. As I have a sweet tooth, my passion for baking and making desserts has grown in the last few years.

What inspired you to make macarons?
I discovered macarons about a year ago when I visited France on exchange. Being a foodie I ate a lot including these beautiful crisp shelled bikkies that I had heard a little about from my sister. The first macaron I ate was absolutely amazing, I had no idea what to expect but it was this chocolate crispy outside with a brownie type inside sandwiched together with a delicious chocolate ganache. After I tried my first macaron I ventured around London and found my inspiration at the French Patisserie Ladurée, which in my opinion is the haute couture of food, who also featured their pastries on the movie ‘Marie Antoinette’. After a bit of practise and experimenting I decided on putting my skills to some use and that is where I decided on creating ‘Pâtisserie Antoinette’.

What’s your favourite thing about what you do?
When I bake, I find pure enjoyment in what I’m doing. It can be a challenge and I have had many times where I’ve had disastrous outcomes but it’s so much fun and I have such a great love for food and that’s all that really matters.

Tell us a little bit about the ingredients/produce you like baking with?
The main ingredients for macarons consist of almond meal, egg whites and sugar but its lots of fun inventing new flavours, my most recent is mango.

What’s on the menu and what can we expect to see at your stall on May 15th?
I’ve decided to stick with classic flavours as they always seem to be the favourites, look out for chocolate, raspberry, pistachio and coconut macarons. Also nutella cupcakes and ‘frou frou’ cupcakes which are raspberry, coconut and chocolate cupcakes. There will also be some bikkies available to buy.