Nadege Patisserie may be the second Toronto pastry shop for chef Nadege Nourian, but she says this one--not her original West Queen West location --fulfils a lifelong dream.

"A pure boutique," she says, standing in her new shop in Rosedale . "That is the real accomplishment for pastry chefs. This is the dream."

Unlike the Nadege Patisserie on Queen near Trinity Bellwooods Park, the Nadege on Yonge doesn't serve coffee. There are no seats, just a few sandwich options, and little space to lounge around. The focus here is solely on the art of the baked good and hand-made chocolate, expertly prepared by Nadege, a fourth-generation pastry chef from Lyon, France.

Nadege Patisserie on Yonge looks more like a high-end jewellery boutique than a pastry shop. Exposed brick and painted grey walls leave all the colour to the treats in the boxed glass displays. There are 12 flavours of French macarons ($2.10) including Salted Caramel, Rose, Pistachio and Mojito, as well as tarts, cakes, croissants, a few sandwiches, and delicate square chocolates ($2.50) made with Vahlrhona chocolate.

"We make the chocolates here now," Nadege tells me. "The baking is done at Queen, and then we bring things over very early in the morning."

Everything here seems picture perfect. The raspberries in the raspberry tart are ruby red, the croissants are a perfect golden brown, and the macarons are all intact, arranged in rows for eyes of admiration. Of course, I don't leave it just to my eyes, and try out a Salted Caramel macaron, as well as a Cassis. The Salted Caramel seems to melt in my mouth after the slight crunch of the meringue, and the Cassis has a great, sweet filling, and intense colour.

"A pastry kitchen, in France, is actually called a Laboratoire," Nadege tells me as she explains her baking methods. "Baking is very much a science. You have to understand the chemistry of ingredients. Sometimes, I will do things over two or three times just to make sure I get it right."

"I have been doing this for years," she continues, "in some of the best places in Europe. Now, I'm just so happy to finally have this place."

And based on the number of ins and outs I observe during my quick visit, it seems the Rosedale community is happy to have this place too.

Photos by Dennis Marciniak