What's happening with our traditional croissant in England? (translated article )

 Par Alexandra Marchand, 3 janvier 2025

In the United Kingdom, the croissant has undergone a thousand and one metamorphoses.  istetiana / Getty Images

A figurehead of French pastries abroad, the iconic croissant has undergone a thousand and one metamorphoses on the other side of the Channel.

Metamorphosed, hybridized, dismantled, stuffed, in a savory version… But what the hell is going on with the  croissant  in England? For the past year, our traditional Viennese pastry with a moon shape and buttery dough has had a thousand and one new faces. A trend that is part of an era where tradition is respected, but no longer limits. Cooks and pastry chefs are thus letting go of the reins of their creativity to approach the croissant as a medium, a blank canvas with myriad opportunities. And innovation is working, seducing consumers who are increasingly eager for hybrid creations, particularly on social networks. And this is even true in France.

The new face of the croissant

Remember, it's 2014, in  New York City , and a hybrid pastry made from a croissant and a donut, called the cronut , is born. Born from the imagination of Dominique Ansel, a French pastry chef based in the Soho district, the creation has the effect of a tidal wave in the world of gastronomy, with foodies waiting hours to taste the creation. However, it would take more than a decade before the croissant mania conquered Europe. 

Dominique Ansel's cronut, the first hybrid pastry based on a croissant. Screenshot Instgram / @dominiqueansel

It is first in the United Kingdom that the croissant is experiencing a renaissance. From its shape to its fillings, everything is designed to create a pastry that will stand out, especially on social networks, a great conveyor of trends. Thus, the Deli Robuchon, located in London, delivers "the cube", a pastry made from croissant dough with a square shape, containing a pistachio, chocolate or vanilla cream, while the bakery British Pantagonia offers the ice crone , an ice cream whose cone is made from croissant dough. 

And the excitement isn't limited to sweets: Chai Guys tearoom serves the croissant in the form of samosas, filled with peas and potatoes, and at Lyme Regis, it's inspired by shakshuka, the traditional Middle Eastern dish made with eggs and tomatoes.

In France, a trend for 2025 

In France too, it's hard to miss the ever-increasing craze for croissants. How can we not mention the crookie in the major food trends that marked the year 2024? Thanks to social networks, this hybrid creation between a croissant and a cookie brought together a crowd in front of Maison Louvard, this establishment halfway between a bakery and a brasserie at the origin of the creation, located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. A stone's throw away, we also discovered the kimchi croissant  , an innovation whose name speaks for itself, signed Norma Bakery. 

The fever is also sweeping away the greatest French pastry chefs who have been willingly taking part in the game for a little over a year, like  Philippe Conticini  who signed an XXL croissant in the summer of 2023, a photogenic creation that immediately seduced social networks. Not to mention his collection of New York Rolls, these circular croissants filled with pastry cream and other sweet fillings. 

Philippe Conticini's Peanut Croissant Roll. Instagram screenshot / @philippe_conticini

And the obsession is not about to run out of steam. Indeed, in a study predicting the major  gastronomic trends  carried out by TheFork and NellyRodi, the variation of Viennese pastries in all their forms will continue to seduce in 2025, especially generation Z who are fond of crazy and uninhibited combinations. Enough to inspire pastry chefs and bakers.