Aux Merveilleux de Fred is a jewel of a French pâtisserie in Montréal, devoted to the traditional specialties of Flanders and northern France — and, above all, to the beloved merveilleux. Everything is made the artisanal way, right in the boutique and before your eyes: come watch the team at work, whisking meringues, shaping cramiques, and filling waffles in open ateliers throughout the day. The house was born of a love of taste and a passion for the French art of living — of taking your time and savouring the beautiful and the good things — and it shows in every delicate, gourmet creation.
The story belongs to Frédéric Vaucamps, a pastry chef from the north of France who, in the 1980s, reinvented a cake dear to him — the merveilleux — making it his own by giving it an incomparable lightness. In 1997 he named his Lille boutique after his signature creation, and Aux Merveilleux de Fred was born. His version quickly became a must, as did his cramiques and Flemish waffles. From 2003 the house blossomed across France, and from 2009 it crossed borders into the world's most prestigious cities — with one guiding promise: that a customer in Montréal, Toronto, London, or Lille finds the very same quality, the same magical taste, and the same gourmandise. The boutiques themselves are part of the pleasure, their baroque, refined decor of mirrors and gilding evoking the elegant, worldly salons of the Directoire era — the age of the Incroyables and Merveilleuses who lent their names to these meringued delights.
At the heart of it all is the merveilleux, that inimitable dessert of two meringues sandwiching airy whipped cream and cloaked in a delicate coating. Originally chocolate, it now comes in a whole family of flavours, each with its own playful name: Le Merveilleux (chocolate cream, dark-chocolate shavings), L'Incroyable (speculoos and white chocolate), L'Impensable (coffee), Le Sans-Culotte (caramel), Le Magnifique (praline with caramelized almonds and hazelnuts), L'Excentrique (cherry), and the lemon Ephémère Citron — available in mini, individual, and shareable cake sizes, so there's a merveilleux for every occasion, from an afternoon treat to an unforgettable birthday. Personalizable assortment boxes of 6, 10, or 16 minis make gifting a joy.
Beyond the signature, the counter tempts with the rest of Fred's northern repertoire: soft brioche cramiques studded with chocolate, sugar pearls, or raisins; packs of fine, melt-in-the-mouth gaufres (waffles) filled with subtle vanilla, vergeoise, coffee, or speculoos creams; buttery pains au lait plain or with a house dark-chocolate ganache; crisp-and-tender twisted meringues; and flaky viennoiserie like the croissant and pain au chocolat. Elegant, indulgent, and made fresh in front of you, Aux Merveilleux de Fred brings a genuine taste of the French art de vivre — light, gourmand, and unmistakable — to Montréal.