Toulouse. Authentic flavors and atypical creations at L’Atelier du Donuts
By Nina Hossein-Zadeh
Published on
It is a place in the city center well known to Toulouse residents. At 35 rue Léon-Gambetta, not far from the Ombres Blanches bookstore, a new boutique has recently opened its doors. At the helm of Donut Workshop, customers could find Lionel They, a Toulousain who has converted. “Before, I worked in a pharmaceutical laboratory,” he recalls. Those days seem to be over for him. From now on, Lionel They is busy in the kitchen and baking donuts.
“What I liked about this product is that there are endless possibilities and combinations,” he explains. In his workshop, the Toulouse man tests flavors and combines certain dishes. He draws his inspiration from around him, from traditional French pastries and other restaurants.
Bubble tea, gourmet drinks
For his latest attempt, he tried combining white chocolate, kiwi and thyme. “I had tasted a dessert with these flavors in a starred restaurant. I wanted to adapt it to the donut. It was inconclusive, but the main thing is to test everything to remove the nuggets. »
In his shop, customers have the opportunity to sit on tables to enjoy their donuts and drinks. “We serve bubble tea, but also gourmet drinks. It looks like a cappuccino with whipped cream and toppings, people love it,” says Lionel They. From their table, visitors have a direct view of the kitchen.
Prime the taste and the homemade
Hands in the dough, Céline, a pastry chef who supports Lionel They, is busy shaping cookies. Together, they take each beginning of the week to prepare the ganaches, toppings, decorations and cookie dough themselves. For the founder, it is very important to have an authentic and non-chemical taste.
In his shop, only the donut dough is not homemade for a good reason. “I needed authorization for a fryer that I didn’t have. I shopped around and tested over a hundred donuts to make sure I got the best dough,” he says.
Open a discovery workshop
This large open and modern kitchen is also to welcome people around its central island. Ultimately, Lionel They hope to offer pastry workshops to transmit and share. “For the moment, I’m waiting to set myself up properly,” said the Toulousain. The store did not have a great launch and for good reason. “We had scaffolding in front of the entrance for quite a while, customers can’t see us. Now, there is the Christmas market… The people of Toulouse are there more! »
On the price side, Lionel They claim to be the cheapest in the Ville Rose. It offers three ranges of donuts: the basics at 2.60 euros, the donuts with topping at 3 euros and the filled donuts at 3.60 euros. At the house of Toulouse Newswe tested the Banoffee donut and it is amply validated.
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