Pastry Chef Patrice Demers of Les 400 Coups - Biography

At the age of 19, Patrice Demers had three career paths to choose from: magic, psychology, or cooking. After some wavering, Demers put down his magician cape and Nietzsche books, and picked up the toque.

He enrolled at École Hôtelière de Laval in Quebec intending to study the savory side of cuisine, but when he found out that the class was full, he decided to start with the pastry program instead. Demers found a passion for pastry and stuck with the sweet side of the kitchen. He continued his training at a small restaurant in Montreal called La Gaudriole. In the years that followed, he worked at many of Montreal’s best restaurants and traveled throughout Europe and the US. Upon his return to Canada, he landed a job at Leméac, a modern French bistro.

In 2003, Demers partnered with three friends to open Les Chevres. With full rein of the pastry menu, Demers began to develop his signature style of pasty. He followed up with another restaurant, Le Chou, in 2005. In 2007, he joined the team at Restaurant Laloux and cemented his place on the international pastry stage as an up-and-coming talent with a penchant for blending sweet, savory, and acidic flavors in innovative ways.

After two years at Laloux, Demers moved on to Newtown in 2009 to help relaunch the restaurant. A short time later, he and colleague Chef Marc-André Jetté were ready to move on to their own project. Along with Jetté and Marie-Josée Beaudoin, Demers is working to open Les 400 Coups in Montreal in late 2010.