Faure served as executive pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton for three years, developing quite the following from students. Her current back-of-house staff all spent time under her tutelage at some point, including her now right-hand pastry man, chef Patrick Devine.
"I didn't do a big Jerry Maguire 'Who's coming with me?' speech," she says, with a laugh. "They chose to follow me...I'm happy to be able to ignite flames in my guys. That's the most important thing to me." (And the crew certainly knows how to have fun, as evidenced by this behind-the-scenes snippet Devine posted in the days leading up to the opening.)
![First Look: La Patisserie Chouquette Offers Desserts that Look (Almost) Too Good to Eat [Photos]](https://media1.riverfronttimes.com/riverfronttimes/imager/u/original/2626056/la_patisserie_chouquette_4.webp)
The 1,800-square-foot boutique tea room comes in pure white bathed in daylight and elegantly embellished with chandeliers, gilded mirrors and subtle accents of gold and turquoise. Wooden benches with decorative pillows, a cushioned armchair and petite tables provide a relaxing respite for weary Francophiles. On any given day, the shop's marble counter tops will contain at least twenty items to pick and choose from.
