Our Story

My name is Olivier and in a past life I was a software engineer, however my passion for food led to my change of careers.

I decided to get professionally trained at one of the best Parisian hotels, the Ritz Hotel. The experience was so overwhelmingly positive that there was no coming back! Albeit not an easy dream to fulfill, opening my first bakery in the US was the vision I shared with my family and friends.  In 2001, I studied for a year at the famous Ritz Cooking School in Paris where I learned to make delicious pastries with the best French chefs. My first challenge in the field was to prepare all the desserts for my own wedding in lovely St-Malo on the Brittany coast - a marvelous chocolate cake and macarons galore for more than 150 people.  During a trip to New York City in 2009, my wife Nathalie and I, then expecting with our second child, fell in love with this incredible city. This is where and when their project was born: a French style bakery with the homely and welcoming atmosphere of a Village café that would offer French and American fine pastries using all-natural products – a combination of the French touch with the American straightforwardness. In February 2010, I left my position as IT Architect at a French consulting group in Paris and started working full time on the project. Entirely committed to bringing only the best to NYC, I completed his training with renowned French pastry chef Camille Lesecq at the glamorous Meurice Hotel in Paris and chef Pierre Hermé of macaron fame at his bakery rue Vaugirard, Paris. With the support and my wife Nathalie’s invaluable help.

Thanks to high standards and Nathalie’s acute business skills were enough to win over close friends and family who decided to be part of the adventure and funded the project. A great team of talented Parisian architects and designers helped materialized our idea of the future bakery shop. We landed in New York City with our toddler Timothée and baby Hippolyte in the spring of 2011 and opened Mille-feuille Bakery.

When the location was found near Washington Square, the name came easily. Mille-Feuille (a Napoleon in English) is a famous French cake enjoyed throughout the world, but the name, “A thousand layers or pages”, also punningly refers to the nearby Bobst library at NYU. The Mill on the logo evokes flour, a key ingredient, but its simplicity is also a homage to the commitment to producing authentic and all-natural baked goods.

In less than 18 months and thanks to great reviews from prestigious outlets like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, we expanded from our initial small kitchen on Laguardia Place  in the Village to a new and bigger one in Brooklyn. In June 2014, we opened our second location on Broadway between 76th and 77th streets to bring our goods closer to you.

This is our story. Please come and meet us, and enjoy our delicious baked goods with our freshly brewed La Colombe coffee.  A bientôt!

Chef Olivier Dessyn Pastry is Olivier's life-long passion. In 2001, he spent a year at the famous Ritz Cooking School in Paris. There he learnt with the best French chefs how to make delicious pastry for the greatest pleasure of his family and friends! His first great challenge in the field was to prepare all the desserts at his own wedding (marvelous fine cakes and macarons for more than 150 people!) in lovely town St-Malo on the Brittany coast. During a trip to New York City  in 2009, while they were expecting their second child,Olivier and his wife fell in love with this incredible city. This is where their project was born: a French style bakery with the homely and welcoming atmosphere of a Village café that would offer French and American pastries with a fine taste, using all-natural products – a combination of the French touch with American openness. In February 2010, Olivier decided to leave his position as IT Architect in a French consulting group in Paris and started working full time on the project. Since then he has been working very hard to make this professional and family project in the US a “dream come true”.  Entirely committed to bringing only the best to NY city, Olivier completed his training with the greatest French pastry chefs such as Camille Lesecq (best pastry chef of the year 2010) at the glamorous Meurice Hotel in Paris and Pierre Hermé bakery (rue Vaugirard, Paris) renowned for his macarons. The quality of Olivier’s pastry and his professional skills enabled him to convince 8 private investors to be a part of the adventure: “Family, close friends and coworkers, they were already part of our life well before this project: they believed in us and made it possible to launch the project.” Olivier then found a great team of talented Parisian architects and designers who helped materialized his idea of the future bakery shop. When the location was found, the name of the bakery came as an evidence. Mille-Feuille (or Napoleon in American English) is a famous cake enjoyed throughout the world. Its literal translation (“a thousand layers or pages”) also punningly refers to the nearby Bobst library at NYU. The Mill that was chosen as a logo brings to mind an essential ingredient, flour, but is also a reminder of Olivier’s commitment to produce authentic and all-natural baked goods. The Mille-feuille’s open kitchen is essential to Olivier’s understanding of pastry: baking is a delicate art that requires technical skills but it is mostly about sharing. Come on in, on vous attend!