Jojo & Co: © Lucky Miam
I spent this morning filming the pastry shop Jojo & Co, La pâtisserie du marché, for a project I’m working on for 750g.com.
That means waking up bright and early to watch beautiful pastries being baked and assembled, before the tiny corner shop, situated in the covered part of the Aligre market, opens at 9am sharp.
The marché d’Aligre
If you’ve never been to the Aligre market in the 12th before, then you should definitely make it a priority. The outdoor market is open every day of the week and offers quite the cornucopia of fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Marché couvert Beauvau
But once you reach the end of the open market, you’ll see the covered market tucked away to the right. And inside this dome-like structure are hiding some of the most well-stocked, highly specialized artisans I’ve seen clustered in such a small space! Specialty cheese, suckling pig, lobsters, artisanal beers and of course, pastries, are all to be found and devoured.
Johanna started her pastry shop in 2014, and I’ve been lucky enough to taste almost every single thing she offers (and she has A LOT of things to eat!). Cookies, madeleines, financiers, chouquettes, gorgeously assembled seasonal pastries, macarons, and my ultimate favorite: the brioche feuilletée.
Brioche feuilletée © Gitanjali Roche
This innocent looking, humble brioche is anything but. Filled with minute layer upon layer of ultra-buttery pastry, then topped with what seems like a craquelin that you’d typically find on an eclair or cream puff, this brioche is my raison d’être. In other words, it’s the only thing that would get me out of bed at 6.30 am.
Other must-tries are her seasonal strawberry cake, or fraisier, the mini blueberry cheesecake, the Mont Blanc, and the dulce de leche tarts with hazelnut and rosemary.
Having spent the better part of the morning watching these pastries come to life, I can confidently say that there’s a lot of love and care that’s put into each and every one. Every component is painstakingly handmade and assembled, and she uses only the best ingredients and perfectly ripe fruits that are at their peak season.
© Gitanjali Roche
Go on. Wake up super early, get yourself a piping hot brioche and enjoy with a cup of coffee. You can call me and thank me later.
Jojo & Co, La pâtisserie du marché
Inside the Marché couvert Beauvau, Place d’Aligre, 75012 Paris
Open every day from 9am
