Vegan French Patisserie to Open in Miami

New vegan shop L’Artisane Creative Bakery expects to open by the end of the week in Miami, FL. The bakery will serve classic French pastries and desserts—made with fair-trade ingredients and vegan sugar—such as flakey croissants, strawberry tartlets, bonbons, raspberry mousse, pain au chocolat, and brownies topped with chocolate streusel, compressed pears, caramelized almonds, and vanilla chantilly cream. The concept was developed by Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef Carolina Molea, who has endeavoured to create vegan French pastries after traveling to the country since age 15. “With every trip to France, my love grew fonder and my dream started to take shape,” Molea, who has been vegan for six years, told VegNews. “I realized that there was a demand in Miami that was not being satisfied, and L’Artisane was born.” Molea was inspired by several vegan luminaries along her journey, including chef Fran Costigan, who Molea describes as “the real queen of vegan desserts.” After overcoming a series of obstacles during a period of two years—such as Hurricane Irma—Molea signed a short-term lease for L’Artisane and hopes locals support the family-run bakery to give it staying power. “I believe that we all have a chance to make an impact, and be active in saving animal lives, helping the planet, and improving our health,” Molea said. “This is the way I do activism, through my recipes, through my flavors and creations.”