A new Oakville patisserie is the pièce de résistance
Tatin Bakehouse is the newest must-visit for delicious pastries in Oakville. It’s tucked away in the industrial neighbourhood of Wyecroft Road, and offers both sweet and savoury baked goods and breads.
After moving to Canada from Boston, Massachusetts, chef and owner Lili Linda’s culinary background began with attending the Bonny Gordon College of Confectionary Arts in 2014. After moving to Oakville, she acquired a position at the Michelin-starred Hexagon in downtown Oakville as pastry chef. Her best-known creation was a Southeast Asian-inspired pandan cake. “It was a very comforting dessert,” she says of the chiffon-style desserts, adding, “It’s very nostalgic for me.”
Linda met her business partner Sheila Wang while they were both working together at Hexagon. They officially opened Tatin Bakehouse late last December. The shop’s name, she says, has a dual meaning. In French, a tarte Tatin (tart tah-TAN) is a famous French “upside-down” caramelized apple tart, said to have been an accidental creation by sisters Caroline and Stéphanie Tatin in the 1880s. It also happens to be Linda’s daughter’s Indonesian name.
Linda was drawn to the world of French pastries for their technical and creative components. “I wouldn’t say it’s complicated, but it does get technical. I find I have a lot of room to play with flavour, and then, decoration.”
During the week there are standard menu items, which are pleasantly displayed on the counter. Weekends usually have more unique one-off specials such as petite gateau, using a creative mixture of ingredients made with whatever Linda may have on hand.
The beautifully created rendang shepherd’s pie is a clever combination of her Indonesian roots and French pastry making. The base of this signature pastry is a classic spelt flour pie shell, caramelized beef and spices and coconut milk, topped with piped mashed potato.
Linda takes experimentation seriously in order to come up with the unique and comforting flavours of the baked goods. “I’m not afraid of trying a different flavour,” she says. Other delicacies include curry puffs, fruit-laden croissants, and thick-crusted canelés.
As you’d expect, a bakery requires hours that aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Linda usually arrives at 3 a.m. every day, with the rest of the staff trickling in as the morning goes on. “I personally like it. I find I get more done when there’s nobody around. Then I will have some extra time to kind of go over other things.”
We couldn’t leave without asking for a little bit of advice on mitigating the struggles of sourdough, which is also available, in addition to some wonderfully soft milk bread. “I can see why people give up,” she says, adding jokingly that her husband – who makes his own sourdough bread – says his is better than hers. “We’re competing on that.”
But perhaps that’s another story…
