Baking is my lifelong passion.

For me, baking is about intention, intuition, and anticipation.

Launched in January 2023, Miel et Ganache is the culmination of my baking dreams.

I was 18 when I stepped foot in my first professional kitchen, in a restaurant on Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue's beautiful boardwalk. Shortly after, I enrolled in the professional pastry program at the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ). I enjoyed learning all about baking while having access to a well-stocked kitchen and eccentric professors. I graduated from culinary school at 20 and kept working in restaurants. I moved to Bath, England when I was 21 and found work in a charming bistro. Once I moved back to Montréal, I obtained my Bachelor's degree from Concordia University in Creative Writing and Women's Studies. I had the opportunity to participate in student exchanges at the Université de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland and at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. While in Sydney, I worked at a sunny beachside restaurant in coastal Coogee.

After 8 years in the grueling restaurant industry as a line cook and pastry chef, I traded in my apron for a cardigan. I worked in public libraries for 8 years, at first as a clerk and eventually as a librarian once I obtained my Master's degree from McGill University. Being surrounded by books while working as a children's librarian was so wonderful and rewarding.

As a pastry chef and librarian, I love to intertwine my passions for baking and books. I'm especially interested in exploring Jewish culinary history. Since 2023 I am back in the restaurant world at Arthurs Nosh Bar in Montréal's effervescent Saint-Henri neighbourhood (and get to eat Arthurs' famously delicious syrniki pancakes), while I pursue my Miel et Ganache endeavours.
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I'm writing to you from my hometown of Montréal. I am Jewish and Québécoise. French is my mother-tongue, and I’m fluent in both French and English. From its restaurants and public markets to its café culture and foodie festivals, Montréal has such a vibrant culinary scene. In my twenties I travelled a lot and moved abroad a few times.  I dream of seeing many more places in my lifetime. Travelling is such a great way to learn about all kinds of culinary histories and traditions.

When I’m not in the kitchen you can find me browsing bookshops and record stores, wandering through the botanical garden, doing yin classes at the yoga studio, getting fresh ingredients from the farmers at Atwater Market, sharing a meal with friends and family, catching a concert or burlesque show, and snuggling with my cats at home while watching Bravo or cosy murder mysteries. You might also find me up north in the Laurentians at the family chalet, by the firepit, and swimming in the lake.
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Bon appétit!
xo
Ariane