Exquisitely French with Le Macaron

French pastries can be sinfully delicious and almost impossible to make without compromising the taste or texture of the delightful dessert. But when it's your passion, you take pride in the art and learn how to do it well.

That's the story of Saleema Barclay, owner of Le Macaron. The financial professional followed her heart, flying to France in 2015 to study patisserie and gastronomic French pastry. The classically trained French chef has worked in 3 Fourchettes au Guide Michelin rated Gastronomique restaurant in France, and has brought back her exquisite skills to the island.

Some of the techniques she mastered during her studies include the art of breadmaking - baguettes, croissants, and brioche; viennoiserie - speciality cakes, entremets and petits g‚teaux; plated desserts; and sugar artistry. She employs all these techniques in Le Macaron to provide the finest French pastry on the island.

All Barclay's creations are done from scratch, as she admits that's how it was done when she worked in France.

"We offer smart, gourmet pastries that put a twist on local ingredients," she tells Food. "Our desserts and pastries are made with whipped cream and very little sugar, so they are very big on taste and flavour and have the perfect amount of sweetness. We do mousse cakes with mirror glaze or glaÁage, hand-made French artisan bread, pastries, petits g‚teau - French for 'small cake', eclairs, tarts, macarons, and Paris-Brest, to name a few."

Le Macaron stands above the rest because of their attention to details.

"Everything is made to order on the premises from scratch with the highest-quality ingredients. All our products aim for pure simplicity and authenticity, using traditional French recipes. Our flavours are crisp, authentic and clean," Barclay boasts.

Just a year old, Le Macaron is already making a name for itself. The newcomer has worked with the French Embassy, making French macarons for its FÍte de Juillet (French Independence Day), and supplies pastries to some well-established restaurants, including Fromage Brasserie, Just Salads, Cannonball Cafe, Uncorked, and Redbones Blues Cafe, with some unique desserts.

For more information, email lemacaron77@gmail.com or visit their Instagram profile: @lemacaron77.