In a quiet Paris neighbourhood, a baker braces for a mad January: short nights, queues along the pavement, and butter in abundance.
While many people are still recovering from New Year’s dinner, French baker Lionel Bonnamy is already in marathon mode. Winner of the Best Galette des Rois in Greater Paris in 2021 and 2025, he aims to produce 15,000 galettes in just two months-without compromising his near-obsessive care for every round of puff pastry and frangipane.
From neighbourhood bakery to Paris’s best galette title
The feat is born at La Fabrique aux Gourmandises, in Paris’s 14th arrondissement. The frontage looks like an ordinary local bakery, but its reputation makes it a must-visit for galette des rois fans. It was here that Lionel Bonnamy’s team twice won the title of best galette in Greater Paris-an achievement that’s rare in French pâtisserie circles.
With the new accolade in 2025, the challenge has only grown: meeting surging demand without turning into an “industrial factory”. The target is clear: 15,000 galettes between early January and mid-February.
For Bonnamy, every galette has to answer a brutal question: “Would I pay for this?” If the answer is no, it doesn’t go into the display.
That strict filter helps explain why customers cross the city-and even come from nearby areas-to secure his frangipane-filled galette. Many wait all year for this moment, treated almost like a New Year ritual.
Targeting 15,000 galettes: an operation worthy of a championship
Reaching 15,000 units requires a set-up that feels more like an elite sports team than a traditional bakery. Nothing is left to chance. Planning begins in December, weeks before Epiphany.
Marathon-pace production
Blocks of puff pastry are prepared in advance, portioned, vacuum-packed, and stored at very low temperatures. This “cold front” provides a small buffer when the calendar flips. Between 29 and 30 December, the team enters what they call the “first big production”: about 2,000 galettes come out of the ovens in just two days.
On 1 January, the shop closes. It’s not a bank-holiday break-it’s a survival strategy. The month ahead is the most physically demanding of the year: little sleep, ovens running constantly, staff working in shifts. According to Bonnamy, everything is decided on the first Epiphany weekend, when output reaches close to 3,000 galettes.
Galettes account for about 20% of the bakery’s annual turnover, even beating Christmas-which explains the almost military level of organisation.
Assembly-line work, without losing the artisan touch
In production, each galette passes through five to six pairs of hands before reaching the shelf. No one does everything alone. The team rotates roles throughout the day: someone rolling pastry may later switch to filling; someone decorating may move on to oven duty.
The reason is simple: reduce fatigue and mistakes. At high volumes, concentration can dip. Changing tasks helps keep attention sharp, maintain a critical eye, and protect quality standards.
- One staff member cuts and prepares the pastry rounds.
- Another handles the frangipane filling.
- A third closes and seals the galettes.
- Someone else applies the egg wash and scores the patterns.
- Finally, one person monitors the ovens exclusively.
Top-quality ingredients: French butter and freshly ground almonds
Behind the flavour is a quiet obsession with ingredients. At La Fabrique aux Gourmandises, the list is short but strict: French butter, Label Rouge flour sourced locally, and whole almonds from Spain, ground on site to guarantee freshness.
The fresher the almond, the more aromatic the frangipane. That’s one of the keys to the creamy texture and the fragrance that rises from the galette.
Everything is made without colourings, preservatives, or artificial flavourings. Bonnamy has turned that choice into a personal commitment. He prefers to talk about a “fair price for the work” rather than inflating prices just because he’s won awards. The idea is balance: a high-end product that’s still accessible to local residents.
A puff pastry process that breaks with convention
While most bakeries use the classic puff pastry method, Bonnamy relies on a technique called feuilletage inversé, or inverse puff pastry. In practice, it’s a change in logic that significantly affects the final texture.
From mixing to the pastry “turns”
In the traditional method, butter goes in as a block inside the dough and is folded repeatedly. In the inverse process, Lionel does the opposite: he makes a beurre manié (butter mixed with flour) which wraps the dough. The result tends to be more melt-in-the-mouth, with well-defined layers and a richer buttery feel.
After mixing, the dough must rest in the cold. Then comes the sequence of folds, known as turns: one English turn, two double turns, and one single turn, always separated by rest periods. Only after an overnight rest is the dough rolled and cut into precisely thick discs, ready to be filled.
| Stage | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Mixing the dough | Combine flour, water and salt, and prepare the beurre manié |
| Resting in the cold | Relax the gluten and firm up the butter |
| Sequence of turns | Create the laminated layers |
| Rolling and cutting | Form the discs that become the base and lid |
Frangipane: the heart of the galette
After the pastry comes the team’s most anticipated stage: filling. Each galette receives a generous layer of frangipane, a blend of vanilla custard cream and almond cream. This is also where the famous fève (the small charm) goes-always made in France.
With the filling in place, the top disc seals the galette. The edges are crimped, the surface gets its first egg wash, and it goes back into the cold for about 30 minutes. Only then does the team add a second egg wash and score the signature patterns with the tip of a knife.
The galette’s appearance isn’t a minor detail: the surface arabesques give it identity, ensure an even sheen, and also affect how heat circulates in the oven.
Oven, syrup, and the perfect finish
Baking takes at least 54 minutes. Towards the end, a light syrup is brushed over the surface. It helps keep the galette and adds a subtle shine. The galette returns to the oven for a few more minutes to “dry” the syrup. Then it rests on a wire rack, losing excess moisture, and is ready for the display.
When and how much: how to try the champion galette
Anyone wanting to try Lionel Bonnamy’s galette needs to go to La Fabrique aux Gourmandises between 2 January and 15 February. Sales are in-store only, with no pre-order system, specifically to keep the flow under control. The team’s promise is straightforward: make enough so that those who queue aren’t turned away.
Galettes are sold in several sizes, serving 2 to 10 people. Prices are around €10 for the smallest size and roughly €40 for the large version designed for groups or whole families.
What this galette story teaches home cooks
Even if you never make it to Paris, there are lessons worth taking from the scenes behind the counter. Two stand out. First, the power of organisation: planning shopping, preparing parts in advance, and splitting tasks makes a difference in an award-winning bakery and in a home kitchen ahead of a Sunday lunch.
Second, the impact of ingredients. Good-quality butter, fresh almonds, and the right flour change the outcome in a tangible way-more than many “secret techniques”. The same logic applies to other recipes, from a simple almond cake to homemade croissants.
If you fancy attempting a simplified galette at home, a few scenarios help set expectations:
- Using ready-made puff pastry speeds things up, but you’ll have less control over the layers.
- Lightly toasting almonds before grinding boosts aroma-so long as they don’t burn.
- Respecting fridge resting times between stages reduces the risk of the filling leaking.
There’s also an interesting cultural layer: galette des rois marks the symbolic close of the festive season in France, similar to how King cake traditions function elsewhere. In both cases, the dessert creates a moment of sharing, the playful search for the hidden fève, and the feeling of an “official start” to the new year-helping explain why so many people brave queues, cold weather, and busy diaries just to secure their slice.
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