GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A new bakery now open at Grand Rapids’ Downtown Market is offering a taste of France without the pricey plane ticket.
Gaby’s Gourmandise celebrated its grand opening Friday.
The French patisserie moved from the Downtown Market’s incubator kitchen into the space that formerly housed one of the market’s original tenants, Sweetie-licious Bake Shoppe. Sweetie-licious owner Linda Hundt shuttered her Grand Rapids bakery in February to focus on her original shop in DeWitt.
Gaby’s Gourmandise, which previously operated at the Fulton Street Farmers Market, is owned by French chef Jean-Gabriel Ferrandon. His menu features sweet and savory quiches, cakes and pastries as well as lunchtime sandwiches, soups, salads and tartines, which are French topped toasts.
Ferrandon said his creations use locally grown ingredients as much as possible, including bread from Field & Fire and produce from nearby farms.
(A photo provided by Downtown Market Grand Rapids shows pastries at Gaby’s Gourmandise.) 
(A photo provided by Downtown Market Grand Rapids shows a tartine at Gaby’s Gourmandise.) 
(A photo provided by Downtown Market Grand Rapids shows a Michigan tomato tart at Gaby’s Gourmandise.) 
(A photo provided by Downtown Market Grand Rapids shows a fraiser at Gaby’s Gourmandise.) 
(A photo provided by Downtown Market Grand Rapids shows a boxed lunch at Gaby’s Gourmandise.)
Ferrandon honed his skills in Paris for more than six years before bringing his culinary expertise to restaurants throughout San Francisco. The Downtown Market said Ferrandon picked Grand Rapids for his French patisserie because it allows him to be closer to family and “be part of the booming West Michigan food community.”
The bakery’s opening comes two weeks after Squibb Coffee Bar opened for business inside the glass-enclosed storefront adjacent to Slows-Bar-BQ.
