Meet Anais Olmer at Bogato

To tell you the truth, 3 years ago for my 25th birthday, I received the craziest gift of all, a cake from Chez Bogato featuring my first Make My Party bookIt was divine, forget the sugar paste decorations, the lanterns were made of very fine marzipan, it was a raspberry rose, and if I close my eyes, my taste buds remember it... Taste ecstasy, as beautiful as it was good. And then, with the status that Make My Lemonade confers on me, I'm lucky enough to regularly receive sweet gifts from brands that call on patissiers to create sweets in connection with their launch, and I always single out Chez Bogato's creations, fun, colorful and delicious.

So Chez Bogatohas become my reference in terms of sweetness... You know my passion for colorful cakes, remember our paper cake calendarWell, in that article I said "I'd been wanting to team up with a patisserie to redo their entire paper menu for a long time, but the opportunity never presented itself, or at least not yet". And then, a few hours later, with the help of my friend's magic wand LiliI received an e-mail from Anaïs Olmer of Chez Bogato. I was literally jumping up and down! We met, and naturally I asked Anais Olmer to collaborate on my new cake-making book, Make My Birthday, due out in a few months. And then, chatting with Anaïs, I knew right away: she'd be perfect for the column on good people, whose journey is so inspiring, and I think she's the perfect Girl Power for this March 8, which we've decided to rename Heroines' Day...

• Guidance counsellor question: Can you tell us about your career path?

I studied graphic design at the Penninghen school, and then worked for almost 10 years in advertising agencies. I got fed up with the dozens of meetings a day that took all the spontaneity out of the creative process. But in the end, I always knew in the back of my mind that I'd end up doing something else. And then, between 2 babies, I decided to take a year's training leave and passed my CAP in pastry-making in 2006. Then, in 2009, I took the plunge and opened Chez Bogato! It's important to have the word "chez" in the name, because I like the idea that, as well as being a boutique, it has the image of a pastry house, a place where things are always made by hand.

• Conversion question: From graphic design to patisserie, it's just a short step and a lot of paperwork?

There have indeed been a lot of changes, and there's a huge difference between being an employee and being an entrepreneur. Even if in an agency, days and projects are never the same, in pastry-making it's an eternal restart, but I try to bring back my passion for graphics and color in my cakes. Being an entrepreneur gives you the freedom to create your own codes, take on new projects and reinvent your craft every day. And then there's the fact that you're involved in everything, from the architecture of your store, to accounting of course, but also the psychological side of managing your teams! In patisserie, there's a very artisanal side that I really like, very much rooted in the real world. You can't work in advance, everything's in a hurry, to guarantee ever-fresh flavors, that's the exciting side of this profession. And then in 2009, when I set up Chez Bogato, there weren't many creative patisserie items, playful molds or fun tools, so it was a real challenge to give a twist to classic patisserie. Today, the range of products on offer is growing, pastry concepts are multiplying and creative decorative elements are becoming more and more widespread, but I'm committed to the taste and passion of real pastry, rather than assembly cooking. It has to be good and beautiful.

• Throwback question: What was your childhood dream job?

Baker and Veterinarian!

Chez Bogato: 7 rue Liancourt 75014 Paris