But for a brief moment in time, I walked into a magical cafe that made me forget that I am a clumsy, messy big oaf that can’t make things look pretty. It’s more than just a magical cafe- it’s Sandrine. Located within downtown Kelowna, this shop speaks to my soul with multicoloured macarons and rows and rows of delicious French pastries. My biggest regret was not picking up macarons for my journey home – we got to taste a couple (well, to be honest, I got to taste a lot…sorry everyone else!) and they were by far the best macarons I’ve had anywhere. I know this is a big thing to say, but I’m throwing down the gauntlet, Vancouver!
Sandrine originated from France near Lyon and comes from a long line of bakers and pastry chefs. Sandrine eventually went back to train at her cousin’s pastry and chocolate shop and also in Paris. Originally, Sandrine moved to the Okanagan with her husband in 2004 where they opened their first cafe specializing in bread and other savoury items called La Boulangerie.
Sandrine offers Cooking Classes ranging from macarons, chocolates to many other French classics. They’re $95/person and you get to not only learn from Sandrine herself, but also get to take home your delicious creations.
We created the Tarte Tatin (which I made later again at home – check out the recipe in a future post I will link to here) and Vanilla Lavender Creme Brûlée.
At first I was a little anxious, as I am terrible with pretty much anything that involves baking (I’ve famously burnt caramel several times in my apartment). But Sandrine makes it so easy and stress free. All the hard lifting is already done for you, but you get to watch the process so you can remember how to do it at home.
Don’t forget to check out Sean and Mardi‘s posts on Sandrine as well!
Check out some of these great photos from our Cooking Class!
