Saint Croissants is a lockdown dream come to life.
There was a point during lockdown when everyone seemed to be experimenting with baking (banana bread we’re looking at you). However, Aimée Soudry has taken her lockdown experiments much further and created her own business. I spoke to Aimée about her business and sampled some of her croissants myself (I couldn’t resist).
How did the idea for Saint Croissants come about?
“I work in freelance digital marketing as my ‘regular’ job but when lockdown happened I pretty much lost 85% of my contracts overnight. Much of my experience is in the food sector and I saw that during lockdown delivery services were booming. I started to think about something new, unique and delicious that I could make and deliver to people to make them smile during this crappy time. About 6-7 weeks into lockdown the idea of Saint was born. I baked some of my now famous loaded croissants and delivered them to friends and family as a surprise and to get some feedback. They all absolutely loved the croissants, so I created the branding and an Instagram account, and it just exploded from there.”
The concept of a topped croissant is totally new to me. Had you tried one before you started making your own?
“No, never, but it’s definitely started a trend now here in the UK! My dad lives in the middle east and there is a really cool company in his town who does something similar with baked pretzels, but I had never seen anything like this here. The croissant is a staple in our household, since my husband is French, and who doesn’t love a croissant, right! My idea was to elevate this pastry favourite and turn it into a treat. When I started baking and playing with flavours it just worked so perfectly.”
Do you have a favourite flavour combination?
“Oh, that’s like trying to pick your favourite child! I do love The Steg – which is a cheesecake base with Biscoff and Cadburys buttons. If you forced me to just pick one I think my favourite is our signature Heaven Saint. It combines popping candy, love hearts and pink wafers. I find it so unique, with sweet and sour flavours and it just looks so inviting. I’m really proud of it.”
Would you ever consider making savoury topped croissants? Or do you see yourself staying on the sweet side?
“People do ask me about producing savoury options but for me Saint is all about the indulgence! I am thinking about ways to marry sweet and savoury flavours on the loading in the future, e.g adding candied bacon.”
The fact you do home deliveries is definitely ideal for the current climate. However, would you ever consider opening your own store?
“I would love to have a Saint store in the future! Everything would be super fun, Instagrammable and give our customers a memorable experience. I think the Northern Quarter is calling out for something like this…Watch this space!”
Can you give us a sneak peek into any new flavours you’ll be releasing soon?
“I’m already thinking about Christmas flavours and creations – I can confirm that Gingerbread men will absolutely be making an appearance.”
Aimée has very kindly given Mancunion readers a discount code for 10% off her croissants and cronuts. It’s valid till December so why not treat your loved ones (or yourself) to an edible Christmas present! Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas?
MANCSTU10 (Valid until 31.12.20)
Eager to get in on some croissant action, I ordered a box of three. The flavours I went for were Kinderella, Heaven Saint and Double Crunchie. My order from Saint Croissants arrived promptly, beautifully packaged, and wrapped in a bow. The croissants themselves were beyond extravagant, laden with confectionery of all kinds including chocolate chunks, chocolate drizzles and even popping candy and love heart sweets! These croissants are definitely made for sharing, due to their incredibly rich nature. Fortunately for me, I had a few hungry housemates who were more than happy to help me taste test. The croissants themselves were buttery and light, perfectly complimenting the colourful array of toppings. Although the croissants are generously bedecked with sweet treats, they are not overly sickly. These croissants aren’t cheap (£15 for a box of three, not including postage) and are definitely a luxury item. They’d make the perfect gift for any loved one with a sweet tooth.
