Chef spotlight: Catching up with Alexandra Launay, executive chef, Ladurée, Canada
Alexandra Launay has fond childhood memories of baking cakes with her mother.
“I started very early,” she recalls, noting that French labour laws admit employment by those as young as 15.
With several family members working in bakeries, Launay grew up in the pastry industry, and later left her hometown to train as a pastry apprentice in Paris, France.
Working diligently along a husband and wife duo, she honed her practical skills in a small bakery, while balancing her studies in recipe development and traditional French pastry techniques. Then, in 2010, she joined one of the most iconic French pastry brands in the world, Ladurée.
“It was brand new and quite amazing for me,” Launay recalls, noting that going from a small scale operation to a global pastry empire meant mastering challenging creative techniques and familiarizing herself with unique ingredients and new equipment, all while gaining her footing in a massive commercial lab.
“I remember the first time I walked into the pastry lab, I fell in love with it,” she says. “I knew this would really help me to enhance my pastry knowledge.”
Loyal to the brand, Launay spent six years working for Ladurée in France, before locating to London, England for an additional six years as the store’s head pastry chef. In June 2022, she moved once more, this time to Toronto, Canada, where she currently works as Ladurée’s executive head chef.
With a charming history that dates back to 1862, Ladurée is a world-renowned luxury French pâtisserie that originated in Paris, France, when Louis-Ernest Ladurée opened the original Maison, a small bakery that sold traditional breads and sweets. After a fire destroyed the bakery in 1871, the building resurfaced as a pastry shop. Jules Chéret, a painter and artist, was hired to decorate the interior, which included the debut of the brand’s signature celadon green stripes.
In later years, a tea room was added to the shop, a feature that remains to this day. Best known for its colourful macarons giftwrapped in exquisite boxes, the dessert company also offers an assortment of delicate French desserts, like cakes, croissants, millefeuille, and other signature creations. As of 2024, Ladurée has 129 global locations, with three in Vancouver and two in Toronto, Canada.
This story first appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Culinary Travels Magazine. To read the full version, and to subscribe to the digital magazine, click here.