New Croissants from Hof Kelsten

Plateau bakery and all around carb haven Hof Kelsten has something new you're going to want to shove in your face: croissants! Owner Jeffrey Finkelstein explains:

"They're crunchy, crispy, flaky, but not too flaky, with maximum butter, but not greasy. We started making them because of demand and it took us a month and a half of experimentation to get it right."

There are definitely Jewish deli influences at Hof Kelsten but Finkelstein essentially sees his place as a European bakery and wants to keep in line with those aspects. He was lucky enough to learn how to make croissants by master chocolatier Oriol Balaguer in Spain and has honed those skills with these pastries.

[Photo: Joanna Fox]

Collaborating with his pastry chef Suyin Wong who also worked with Daniel Boulud in both Vancouver and Montreal, Finkelstein explains that this is just the beginning. "We've been serving these plain ones to the public for about two weeks max, but we're planning on making croissants with cheese, rhubarb or seasonal fruit ones, Valrhona chocolate... It's going to be good."

· Hof Kelsten [Official Page]