Patisserie 27

The intoxicating scent of fresh baked bread and pastries wafts out the door of this small French pastry shop luring hungry passersby in. Patisserie 27 is the creation of Canadian-born Walter Sallese and Japanese-born Azumi Kimura. Although Walter had always enjoyed baking at home, he never considered it as a profession until he met Azumi. A trained chef from Japan, Azumi studied under French-trained chefs and had the opportunity to work in France for a year before moving to Canada.

The duo opened Patisserie 27 in 2011 using a simple division of labour - Azumi makes the sweets and Walter makes the bread. “This is the family tradition on my mom’s side in Italy,” says Walter, referring to some of the breads including Ciabatta and Durum Semolina, which are baked using his grandfather’s recipes.