Having worked as an executive pastry chef for a boutique hotel, a global cruise chain, and an Italian fine-dining brand, Rakesh Nayak decided to open his own bakery in downtown Middletown, an up-and-coming city about 70 miles north of Manhattan.
“This is what you get in France, Boston, or London,” Mr. Nayak told The Epoch Times as he pointed to a wide selection of pastries and cakes in his new store. “And we are bringing this to North Street in Middletown.
“Middletown is very special for me.”
The India-born pastry chef recently moved to the area with his family from Texas for his daughter’s dance education.
On June 22, the grand opening day of “Mister Croissant,” the 1,000 or so prepared baked goods, including candied apples, tiramisu, and the signature “Pistachio Croissant” created by Mr. Nayak, were sold out before the store’s closing time.
“We are very excited about this new opening,” Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano said shortly before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We have always had a good food reputation here in the City of Middletown, and ‘Mister Croissant’ is going to enhance that.”
Mr. DeStefano went on to highlight the revitalization of downtown over the past years, fueled by a combined infusion of private investors and taxpayer-funded governmental grants.
In 2016, the city was the inaugural Hudson Valley recipient of a $10 million downtown revitalization grant from the state, which helped breathe life into several major vacant buildings and improved the downtown streetscape and facades, laying the foundation for further redevelopment.
“I represent 82 different municipalities across the Hudson Valley, and what is happening in Middletown is special and exciting,” Congressman Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.) said at the new bakery. “[The bakery] really represents the best of Middletown and Hudson Valley.”
“This is the American dream you are looking at,” said state Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat lawmaker representing most of Orange County. “[Mr. Nayak] came from India with nothing, and now look what he has brought here in the heart of the City of Middletown.”
Most pastries at the store are prepared using detail-oriented, aesthetics-minded French techniques, which Mr. Nayak came to appreciate during his more than 20 years of culinary experience.
“What fascinates me is that you can take the French technique, and you can create anything,” said the pastry chef, who likes experimenting with modern twists on traditional processes.
“I am really impressed by the presentation of all the features,” said Alexandria Youngquist, a customer who ordered a strawberry cream pastry, a Japanese namelaka eclair, and a mango and lemon tart on opening day. “Everything looks so pretty, fancy, and exotic.”
Traditional techniques go hand in hand with high-quality ingredients at the store. For example, Mr. Nayak uses paste imported from Italy and butter from France for his signature croissants.
“We believe in following truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance,” Mr. Nayak said, noting that he hoped that shoppers could feel the heart that he puts into pastry making and customer service at the store.
