Eric and Hulya Rousseau opened Belle Époque on Newington Green in April 2002 to bring French gastronomique culture to Stokey. It is in a perfect location and the building reflects the spirit of 1920s Parisian Art Noveau patisseries.

Eric comes from Pontoise, an old medieval town on the outskirts of Paris. Initially they were looking for a site south of the river in places like Blackheath, but decided in the end to come to Stokey. As Eric put it: ‘I sell an exclusive French product, but not at an exclusive price – so, why not Stokey?’ Eric also likes Stokey’s community spirit and is actively involved in local community activities. When asked ‘why come to the UK at all?’, he shrugs his shoulders and states that ‘there is a huge market and no competition here’.

Eric’s CV is, to say the least, impressive. He was professionally trained in France and has worked as a pastry chef on cruise liners and in Namibia. More recently, he was the Pastry Chef for Les Saveurs de Jean Christophe Novelly and for Searcy’s Restaurant at the Barbican Centre and Head Pastry Chef for the Caviar House in Piccadilly. He is also a Guinness world record holder.

Belle Epoque has its own kitchens (‘laboratories’ to Eric) split into a bakery and a pastry kitchen. They supply breads to several well-known establishments including the Caviar House and L’Orangerie. Locally, they supply Clicia and the Don Mario Deli in Highbury. Belle Epoque’s essential components are deli, coffee shop, chocolatier, patisserie and bakery. They import two and a half tons a fortnight of France’s top flour Grande Moule de Paris. Six to eight different breads including five cereals, rye, baguette and pain de campagne are produced daily and the breads change four times a year according to the season. They also make brioches, pain au chocolate and they sell 1,100 croissants over Saturday and Sunday alone.

The patisserie, using award winning Beurre d’ Isigny, produces tarts, cakes, gateaux and individual cakes. You could kill for a slice of the ‘Belle Epoque’ cake. It is made from state-of-the-art chocolate with an orange crème brulee centre, Grand Marnier and Florentines. Belle Epoque is also a chocolatier. They make JanDuJar, confisery, bonbons, Easter eggs and a lot more.

Belle Epoque stocks the full range of dark Cuban chocolate – Touzanie, Dominque and Paponase. Eric is famous for his chocolate sculptures, some of which are over three feet high. This Xmas, the shop will have its seasonal chocolate sculpture. Any customer buying 100 grammes or more of chocolate can enter a competition where whoever is the closest in guessing the weight of the chocolate sculpture wins it. As if this is not enough, Eric specialises in making highly decorative sugar blown objet d’arts cake decorations: ‘Turn the oven to 200C and work with it’ – got it.

The coffee shop imports its coffee from Café Picard in Paris and uses either 100 percent Arabica coffee or Café Rouge for milky coffees. It also serves continental breakfast, fresh quiches du jour, salad, croque monsieur, hot tartines and sandwiches.

Last, but by no means least, Belle Epoque is also a deli. It sells homemade jams, fruit preserves, confitures and other goodies like La Belle Chauriene cassoulet and twenty-year-old Balsamico di Modena. Is this foodie heaven? Is the Pope a
Catholic?
La Belle Epoque
37 Newington Green, N16
020 7249 2222

Newington Green’s move from a traffic roundabout to Mildmay’s green oasis is about to step into a higher gear thanks to the Newington Green Action Group. The NGAG has been campaigning for improvements to the Green itself and to the surrounding area since 1999. It was particularly keen to make the Green more accessible – at the moment it is surrounded by four lanes of one-way traffic. Islington Council has now agreed to re-landscape the Green and reduce the road to two lanes and widen all the pavements. Work on this project starts in November and should be finished by May 2004.

The Council has put in a bid with the support of the NGAG to build toilets and a small building on the Green that could act as a cafe or an office for a park ranger who would be a permanent presence on the Green.

Traffic-calming measures in the streets surrounding the Green are under discussion. The NGAG is continuing to press the council to provide CCTV in the area and improved street lighting will be part of the regeneration scheme, as is a ward-wide controlled parking scheme.