La Brioche Patisserie is located in the historic Fondren District at Fondren Corner in Jackson, Mississippi, focusing on Petits gateaux, breakfast pastries, entremets cakes, sweet and savory, petits fours and confectioneries.
Alejandra Sprouts and Cristina Lazzari
Alejandra Sprouts and Cristina Lazzari, both from Rosario, Argentina have traveled to different countries in Europe and South America throughout their lives. Their travels left them with a vision of fusing the different cultures through pastries.
Alejandra completed L’Art de la Patisserie program at the French Pastry School in Chicago, Illinois under the teachings of Chefs Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, M.O.F. She also finished a six month internship at the school where she had the opportunity to work under master bakers and world renowned chefs. She has gained experience through working and staging at various hotels, restaurants and bakeries in Chicago, IL. She values the importance of using quality ingredients as well as seasonal ones, which is an important characteristic for confections at La Brioche.
Living in Miami and traveling often from Sweden to her husband’s home in Southern Italy, Cristina developed her palate for fine pastries and a well-made coffee. Eventually she moved from Miami to Sweden to complete her studies in horticulture. After getting married she and her husband moved back to the USA and made Jackson, MS their home. She complements this experience with having worked many years in coffee shops and pastry shops in Europe and in the U.S.A.
La Brioche is delighted to bring Jackson the world through artisanal pastries.
Premier Bride of Mississippi and Premier Wedding of Mobile Bay writer, Jenny Cox Holman, interviewed Alejandra Sprouts, Owner|Pastry Chef; Cristina Lazzari, Owner|Manager and Lisa Belenchia, Catering Coordinator for creative ideas on how to incorporate La Brioche Patisserie into wedding festivities.
Alejandra, can you tell our readers about yourself – what brought you to your current career with La Brioche? How did you get started? Can you tell me about your staff?
Since I was a little girl, I have always loved sweets and pastries but it wasn’t until later in life that I realized I could do this as a career! I used to be an organic grower and produced micro greens, edible flowers, herbs and sprouts for local restaurants and the farmer’s market. I enjoyed working with nature and have always been interested in working with food and understanding how it is grown…but it just wasn’t my true passion. While I was in college I started to travel the world in an effort to find myself and determine what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. When I finally decided to go to pastry school in Chicago at The French Pastry School, I didn’t know how it would change my life forever. Pastries make me happy, beginning with the chemistry behind them, continuing throughout the creative process and ultimately seeing people smile as they try one of my creations.
We’ve been blessed with a great kitchen crew and front of the house staff. Everybody brings a unique quality to La Brioche. Most of the staff are art students which ties in perfectly with the type of desserts we make. Not to mention that each and every one of them are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.
Tell me about La Brioche – what special services do you offer for a bride-to-be and her fiancé? How can you help with bridesmaids’ lunches, announcement parties or wedding receptions?
At the present time we do not offer traditional wedding cakes – however, we can create a dessert bar filled with a decadent array of petits fours, entremets cakes, French macarons, confectioneries and more for your special day. The sweet and savory possibilities are endless for engagement parties, bridal tea parties, bachelorette parties, bridal breakfasts and even sandwich trays and treats for the bridesmaids/ groomsmen on the day of the wedding. Recently we even baked mini croissants for favor bags the morning of the wedding! Our macarons combined with our unique packaging choices are very popular for wedding favors and welcome baskets for out of town guests. We are happy to work with your wedding planner to make your day a treasured memory.
Do you offer wedding/groom’s cakes? If so, what kinds can you make?
Our cakes are really entremets, which are layered mousse cakes. We offer quite an extensive selection. Unlike fondant cakes, mousse cakes with beautiful glazes cannot be shaped into specific figures or objects, however they can be decorated with various chocolate design features, macarons and other décor.
Even though the wedding cake has been seen as the staple dessert and sweet treat of the wedding reception, tell us how La Brioche’s desserts can create a magnificent dessert table?
Brides are more and more moving away from the traditional wedding cake and are looking for unique and fun individual desserts. La Brioche can definitely make your dessert table outstanding not only in appearance, but in flavors and textures as well! Our very talented and artistic crew can work with chocolate, glazes and the finest of ingredients to give you and your guests an amazing experience.
What advice would you like to offer a bride-to-be after their engagement as they are trying to plan for the food for their wedding parties or reception?
Lisa Belenchia, our Catering Coordinator, is available to consult with the bride-to-be and/or the wedding planner to determine your vision and preferences. Since our desserts are so intricate and versatile, proper planning is essential. More time for planning assures more time for creativity and wonderful results.
What do you like most about what you do?
We get to use our creativity every day and consequently are a part of so many special occasions!
What are the current trends in desserts for wedding receptions?
Dessert Bars! Some brides choose to omit the traditional wedding cake altogether while others might want both. It provides the wedding couple more options and makes it more fun for the guests.
What advice would you like to offer clients to help create a versatile and tasty menu that their guests will love?
Think outside the box and be open minded when you come to visit with us. We do not have a traditional American dessert menu, so we won’t be able to accommodate traditional cookies or cupcakes. However, we will encourage you to try our beautiful and delicious petits gateaux, eclairs and laminated pastries.
What are areas that sometimes get accidentally neglected in the catering process that you would like to encourage a bride to remember to put some focus towards?
The three most important factors that we think the bride must remember are: time frame, conversations about details of your expectations, (even the smallest ones) and weather conditions (Mississippi is very humid and it has an effect on some of the more delicate pastries).
How far in advance do you need for a bride to schedule your services? What is the best way to reach you?
We need at least a month for less intricate menus, but for larger and more complex menus, we would ask for a minimum of six weeks. We would like the bride to schedule at least two meetings with us. Lisa Belenchia, our Catering Coordinator, can help you get started. Her email is: lisa@labriochems.com
What do you see on the horizon for up and coming trends in weddings for this fall/winter 2016 and spring/summer 2017?
More dessert and gelato bars with greater selections, macaron towers and more minimalistic desserts!
Do you have any additional information or advice that you would like to add?
Come and visit us at our store in Fondren (Jackson, Mississippi) for a taste of the big city! Planned in advance we can set up a tasting menu for our customers to help them select the best dessert table for their wedding. Check out our Facebook or Instagram pages to help you visualize what we are all about.
Would you like to know more about La Brioche Patisserie? Visit their Facebook or Instagram pages for more awesome photographs and delicious details! For more creative wedding ideas, visit our blog!