In a quiet corner of south Paris, one small bakery is bracing for its most intense two months of the year.
At La Fabrique aux Gourmandises, in the 14th arrondissement, master baker-pastry chef Lionel Bonnamy is preparing to push his team, his ovens and his own limits: he wants to bake 15,000 galettes des rois for Epiphany season, without sacrificing the craftsmanship that just won him the 2025 “Best Galette of Greater Paris” award.
From neighbourhood bakery to Paris reference point
Bonnamy is not an unknown name in French pastry. His galette des rois was already crowned best in Greater Paris in 2021, and he repeated the feat in 2025. The double win triggered a wave of media attention and a flood of new customers.
The same galette that seduced the jury now has to convince several thousand customers every weekend.
His bakery sits on a relatively calm street in the 14th, yet regulars cross the city, and even come from neighbouring regions, to queue for his frangipane-stuffed puff pastry. For many families, picking up “the Bonnamy galette” has become as much a ritual as cutting the cake itself.
That success comes with a new challenge: demand rising faster than the number of hands he can place behind the counter. For early 2026, Bonnamy has been asked to supply galettes to Matignon, the French Prime Minister’s residence, a strong symbol of how far his craft has taken him.
“Would I buy this galette myself?”
In the basement lab, the atmosphere feels closer to a well-drilled kitchen brigade than a cosy corner bakery. Each galette passes through five or six pairs of hands before it reaches the shop window. Every stage has its specialist. Dough, rolling, filling, finishing, baking, and glazing are all handled by different people who rotate positions through the day.
His only test before a galette reaches the shelf: “Is it worth the price? Would I buy it myself?”
If the answer is no, the cake is pulled from the line. No second chances, no discount basket. This strict approach has built deep loyalty. Some customers call ahead to ask which days he personally oversees production, as if booking tickets for a concert.
Bonnamy insists that fame should not lead to inflated prices. He speaks openly about “just price” and refuses to turn his trophy into an excuse to charge luxury-boutique rates. In an era when some Paris pastries sell for the price of a decent lunch, that stance stands out.
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A season prepared like a sports competition
Behind the apparent magic lies a schedule closer to training for a marathon than baking for a village fête. The real work starts weeks before Epiphany Sunday.
From early December, the team begins preparing and laminating dough blocks destined to become galettes in January. These precious “pâtons” of puff pastry are vacuum-packed and stored at very low temperatures. That head start is vital, because the last days of December are brutal.
On 29 and 30 December, the shop aims to produce around 2,000 galettes. The objective is clear: fill the cold room before New Year’s Eve, shut on 1 January to let the team sleep, then launch into a month when nights are short and ovens are never quite cold.
For this bakery, January sales of galettes outstrip Christmas takings and represent around a fifth of annual turnover.
According to Bonnamy, everything depends on the very first Epiphany weekend. He targets around 3,000 galettes over those two days alone. That peak shapes staffing, ingredient ordering and even the rhythm of deliveries.
Top ingredients, no shortcuts
For Bonnamy, technique only works if the ingredients match the ambition. The lists on his order sheets are short but demanding:
- French butter with high fat content
- Label Rouge flour sourced through short supply chains
- Whole Spanish almonds, ground just before use or directly in Spain
- Real vanilla in the pastry cream, not flavouring
He refuses colourings, preservatives or artificial aromas. For him, freshness of the almonds is key: more aroma, more natural sweetness, more depth in the frangipane. That choice raises costs, but he sees it as non‑negotiable.
Inside his meticulous galette method
Beyond ingredients, Bonnamy follows a layered, almost architectural process. He works with what French pastry chefs call “inverted puff pastry”, a slightly more complex cousin of the classic dough used for croissants.
In traditional puff pastry, the butter is locked inside the dough. In the inverted version, Bonnamy blends butter and flour first to make a smooth paste, then wraps that around a leaner dough. The fat ends up outside instead of inside.
This inverted technique brings extra flakiness, a fondant texture and better keeping qualities for galettes that must wait on the counter.
Once the base dough is ready, it rests in the cold. Then comes the “tours”, those famous rolling and folding stages which create the hundreds of layers that puff in the oven. For his award-winning galette, Bonnamy uses a precise sequence: one “English” turn, two double turns and one single turn, each separated by resting phases so the gluten can relax.
Only after an overnight rest is the dough rolled out and cut into rounds, called “abaisses” in pastry language. These disks become the top and bottom of each galette.
The sacred stage: the frangipane
Frangipane is often confused with simple almond cream, yet it is richer and more complex. Bonnamy prepares a vanilla‑scented pastry cream first, then mixes it with almond cream to achieve a light yet generous filling.
The cut rounds of puff pastry are chilled again for about an hour before being filled. The team then spreads a measured layer of frangipane, leaving clean edges for sealing, and slips in the fève, the small token hidden inside. At La Fabrique aux Gourmandises, these charms are made in France, a small patriotic detail that many customers appreciate.
The galette is closed with a second disk of dough, edges are pressed to seal, and the surface receives a first coat of egg wash. After another spell in the cold, it gets a second layer of glaze and the traditional decorative scoring with a sharp blade.
A controlled bake, right to the last minute
Each galette bakes for at least 54 minutes. That length of time surprises some home bakers used to shorter recipes, but for large, generously filled cakes, slow and even heat is crucial.
Right at the end, the team brushes on a light syrup, then returns the galette to the oven for a few extra minutes to set the shine and extend freshness.
Once out of the oven, the galettes cool on racks until the pastry “sweats” and stabilises. Only then are they brought upstairs to the shop, where impatient customers often press their faces against the glass, trying to spot the newest batch.
How, when and where to get one
For anyone planning a January trip to Paris, the timing is clear. Bonnamy’s galettes are available from 2 January to 15 February at La Fabrique aux Gourmandises in the 14th arrondissement.
| Serving size | Approximate price |
|---|---|
| 2 people | €10 |
| 10 people | Around €40 |
The bakery operates on a first‑come, first‑served basis during the galette season. No pre‑orders, no delivery apps. Bonnamy prefers to manage stock in real time and avoid overpromising during his busiest period. He insists there will be enough for everyone, relying on his 15,000‑galette target as insurance.
Why the galette des rois matters so much in France
For international readers, the frenzy around a single seasonal cake may seem exaggerated. Yet the galette des rois holds a special place in French culture. Traditionally eaten around Epiphany, it is shared at work, at school, and within families throughout January.
The person who finds the fève in their slice becomes “king” or “queen” for the day and usually chooses the next galette. Whole offices end up organising mini‑tournaments of cake, with scores kept as carefully as fantasy football leagues.
Behind each galette is a social ritual: no one wants to be the one who arrived empty‑handed to the office coffee break.
That social pressure helps drive sales. A bakery like Bonnamy’s does not just sell pastry; it sells the promise of a moment shared, a meeting excuse, or a treat that makes winter afternoons more bearable.
What home bakers can learn from Bonnamy’s method
Reproducing a 54‑minute, inverted‑puff, award‑winning galette at home is ambitious, yet parts of Bonnamy’s routine can translate to a domestic kitchen.
- Chill the dough and filling well at every stage to keep layers defined.
- Use good‑quality butter and fresh ground almonds rather than pre‑ground packs sitting for months.
- Allow at least 45–50 minutes of baking for a family‑sized galette, at a moderate temperature, to cook the centre properly.
- Brush a thin sugar syrup at the end if you want a gentle shine and a slightly longer shelf life.
Another lesson lies in his attitude to volume and quality. Even while chasing 15,000 units, Bonnamy keeps a simple, personal rule as his guardrail. Home cooks can adopt the same test: would you serve this to your closest friends, and would you pay for it yourself?
Behind the numbers, a question of stamina and risk
Aiming for 15,000 galettes is not just a nice round number. It implies tough choices: longer working hours, more staff on temporary contracts, higher ingredient bills, and the constant risk that a supply glitch or a broken oven could derail the plan.
For a small business, January can make or break the year. A successful Epiphany season can finance new equipment, training or a badly needed summer break. A disappointing one, after investing in butter and almonds at scale, can weigh heavily on margins.
The real balancing act for Bonnamy is between growth and exhaustion: pushing output while keeping his team and his standards intact.
As Epiphany approaches, his 15,000‑galette target sounds both audacious and strangely logical. When half of Paris seems ready to crown a king or queen with a slice of frangipane, someone has to keep the ovens running. This year, Lionel Bonnamy is betting that his will not stop.
