French exit: Dominique Ansel quits London
The Dominique Ansel Bakery, which continued to operate for takeaway throughout the Coronavirus lockdown and has since reopened for dine in customers, will close at the end of August.
The Dominique Ansel Treehouse, which only opened to the public in February this year, has been closed since the lockdown came into effect in late March and will now not reopen at all.
A spokesperson from Ansel’s New York team told BigHospitality: “London has been so wonderful and so supportive to us.
“Unfortunately, our licensee has told us that, in light of the ongoing restrictions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, they do not think it will be possible to continue to operating either location profitably.
“As a result, both the Treehouse and Dominique Ansel Bakery London will be closing at the end of August.”
Ansel opened his flagship London bakery in Belgravia back in 2016.
It was subsequently reported in late 2018 that he had secured a second London location in Covent Garden, however, the site did not open until February this year.
Called Dominique Ansel Treehouse, the concept was part bakery boutique and part bistro café, with a menu designed to showcase different pastry-driven techniques.
Dishes on the Treehouse bistro menu included wild mushroom and confit chicken vol-au-vent; roasted venison pithivier; and a tomato soup en croûte.
When asked, Ansel’s spokesperson didn’t rule out a return to the capital one day.
Ansel worked as executive pastry chef at Daniel Boulud’s three Michelin-starred restaurant Daniel in New York for six years, before opening his first bakery in the city in 2011.
His Cronut creation, a croissant-doughnut hybrid made by frying laminated dough in grape seed oil before it is filled and covered with sugar and a glaze, gained a cult following in New York and was named one of the Best Inventions of the Year by TIME magazine in 2013.
