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Gateau Ghost
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When it comes to Gateau Ghost, a new patisserie/bruncherie on College near Dovercourt, it wasn’t until I sat down with chef and co-founder Jayden Park, an artfully arranged plate of the most gorgeously tricked-out madeleines I’d ever laid eyes on before us, that the establishment’s curious name began to make sense.
Remember madeleines? Those plump, buttery, slightly lemony, shell-shaped French sponge cakes so beloved by Proust (and perhaps your great-aunt who visited Paris in the 1950s)? You’d be forgiven if they’re not exactly on your radar. Amid the much more fashion-forward likes of multi-layered croissants and pastel-hued macarons, madeleines seem just a little, well, stodgy.
That’s the impression Park had, at least after scoping out the GTA’s underwhelming madeleine scene, something he had ample time to do after the pandemic hit and he was laid off from his restaurant job. Until then, since the age of 11, when he’d enrolled in a cooking course in his hometown of Incheon, South Korea, Park had been cooking non-stop. After graduating from culinary school and working his way up to personal chef for the South Korean minister of defence, he emigrated to Canada, where he was employed at some of the country’s most renowned restaurants, among them Joe Beef, Buca and Dandylion.
Viewed his rapid ascent, the sudden lay-off hit hard. During his enforced indolence, Park struggled with what he was going to do – and what he really wanted to do. Multiple sessions of soul-searching led him to pastries, specifically to madeleines. “I wanted to make them more interesting because it seemed that nobody really cares about madeleines anymore. And at that time, I felt as if I was like a madeleine. I too wanted to feel recognized and relevant.”
In truth, Park had always harboured a passion for pastries. But at the time he wasn’t out – either as a chef with secret dreams of becoming a pastry chef, or as a gay man. In truth, the hetero bro culture so pervasive in many kitchens made him fear that coming out as a wanna-be pastry chef – a profession deemed “feminine” – would be tantamount to coming out as gay.
But after losing his job, all bets were off. As he recalls, “I needed to do something I really loved.”
Busting out of the closet on all levels, Park started baking madeleines in earnest. And not just any madeleines. With the butter content dialed up, his madeleines were extra moist. They were also extra large and thick, made with special pans that he imported from South Korea. The jumbo sizing gave Park a much larger canvas to work with. He could fill the sponge cakes with luscious creams and flavourful fillings, adorn them with Technicolor toppings and ornate piping.
That said, it wasn’t just about the visuals. Admittedly, you can see a glistening red Gateau Ghost strawberry madeleine – strawberry cake, filled with strawberry ganache, topped with strawberry glaze – coming at you, like a fire engine, from a mile away. However, when it comes to flavours, Park’s madeleines are groundbreaking, mashing up classic combinations and infusing them with Asian notes and influences that constantly surprise.
The most popular by far, matcha pistachio, features matcha cake filled with mascarpone chantilly, topped with a matcha glaze and crushed pistachios the size of pebbles. More radical still is the sweet, savoury and downright umami-ish miso chive madeleine, with a base that channels cornbread, bathed in a miso honey glaze and sprinkled with freshly grated Parm, chopped chives and fresh black pepper.
Already envisioning a business, one day Park idly drew a sketch of a madeleine lying on its side. To be cute, he added a face, then showed the drawing to his partner, a creative director, adding he’d thought of a potential name for his venture: “Gateau Gateau Gateau”. Although Park’s partner wasn’t sold on the name, he loved the image as a potential logo. “It actually looks like a ghost,” he said of the inverted madeleine. And that’s how “Gateau Ghost” came into being.
The moment Gateau Ghost hit social media, Park’s made-over madeleines made a big impression. They were unconventional, glam, and fittingly, even kind of queer. Initially, Park sold them online, along with other pastries, and they were such a success that he was invited to do pop-ups throughout the city. On Instagram, these spongey superstars came to the attention of local entrepreneur Randall Papineau. He was so taken with them that he DM’ed Park with a proposition that they partner up to open a brick-and-mortar Gateau Ghost.
Soon after, Park and Papineau found the perfect space – big and bright with brick walls and varnished wooden floors – formerly home to Barroco X Nino. The only problem was its cavernous size: too big for just a pastry shop, but perhaps ideal for a shop and a restaurant serving brunch. When Papineau suggested merging Park’s culinary background with his passion for pastry in a single space, Park recalled his precocious 11-year-old self’s ambitions of one day opening a restaurant and eagerly agreed. As he points out, not only was there a natural overlap between cafe offerings and brunch fare, but he would also be realizing two long-cherished dreams for the price of one.
The concretization of this twofold dream begins with the loungey hang-out space at the front of Gateau Ghost, which also doubles as a gourmet pantry, stocked with natural wines as well as preserves, sauces and condiments. Blond wooden benches, stools and surfaces – not to mention a big leafy tree – beckon patrons to sit and gab while sipping on coffee (an exclusive blend made by De Mello) and enjoying one of the pastries beautifully displayed behind glass at the counter. On any given day, you might find a bacon, white cheddar and green onion scone, an Earl Grey oat crumble cookie, or a red bean and soybean powder croissant. And yes, of course, madeleines.
If you want a proper sit-down meal, head towards the back where a long dining (or rather brunching) room, seating 40, faces an open kitchen. Guests can take a seat at the kitchen counter or huddle at one of the gleaming white cafe tables. With its patterned tiled floors, cane-backed chairs and caramel leather banquettes, the space is coolly reminiscent of a French bistro.
Echoing the pastry menu, Gateau Ghost’s brunch menu cleverly riffs on classic dishes, adding playful tweaks and unexpected Asian influences.
A towering (and tantalizing) presence, Cereal Shrimp Toast arrives looking very much like a regal French croquette, its cornflake-encrusted exterior crowned with a creamy layer of shrimp aioli and a rich showering of diced chives. The big reveal comes when you bite through the cornflake crunch, only to be happily surprised by layers of fresh, juicy shrimp. Utter umami.
The croque madame is another French stalwart that takes a delightfully unpredictable turn for the more Asian. Crowned with a jiggling sunnyside egg, Park draws on his Korean heritage, swapping out the usual jambon for a robust bulgogi made with marinated beef, which marries quite nicely with the traditional mornay sauce.
Before ordering the KFC Sando, it’s important, though not essential, to know that the “K” is for “Korean” not “Kentucky” (sorry Coronel!). That said, the chicken – juicy thighs instead of breast – is actually prepared in Japanese style, making use of a made-in-house, sweet-and-sour, honey-garlic soy-based dipping sauce to marinate the meat right up until frying. Crispy, but not sticky, it’s topped with mounds of crunchy shredded cabbage, sliced pickles and lemon aioli and wedged (just barely) between two halves of home-made brioche, the top bun seared with a charred version of the Gateau Ghost logo. The accompanying shoestring fries are doused in fresh Parm and herbs.
On the lighter, more vegan side, there’s a salad of delicate radicchio leaves, layered with paper-thin slices of pickled raw golden beets, the entire bright pinkness and pale yellowness of it all glistening in a tangy orange-beet juice vinaigrette. Sculpturally arranged upon a pool of orange gel, the salad arrives topped with a flurry of toasted pistachios.
At Gateau Ghost, drinks hew closely to the brunch ritual. The compact cocktail menu features mimosas, an espresso martini and a GG Caesar featuring a spicy kimchi base and a wake-up shot of sriracha. The wines veer towards light and natural.
Available to take-out and drink-in, at both the cafe and in the dining room, are a handful of specialty teas and coffees. Brightly hued mango ginger turmeric iced tea and iced berry matcha latte are refreshing thirst quenchers, especially on a hot summer day. More subtle, the black sesame oat cappuccino comes in hot and chilled versions (it’s Park’s personal favourite).
For dessert, in addition to a sticky madeleine toffee pudding, the entire pastry counter is at your disposal. Particularly beguiling is the calamansi toasted almond tart. Imagine the small, perfectly conceived love child of a key lime pie and a lemon meringue pie, but with the more subtle calamansi replacing the brasher citrus notes of its parents.
And, of course, there are also madeleines.
There are always madeleines.
Indeed, despite the double-header of having achieved two long-held dreams in a single endeavour, when asked what he’s proudest of in terms of Gateau Ghost, Park points to the gateaux themselves.
“The madeleines are our best-selling item,” he says, indicating the neat piles of Gateau Ghost boxes made especially to transport the signature treat.
“It’s what people take home the most,” he adds, clearly revelling in the fact that, like himself, these formerly ghostly gateaux are no longer sitting, invisible and forgotten, on a shadowy back shelf, but instead making a bold, vibrant, delicious impact out in the world.
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