When your fork pierces the glossy garnet skin of your La Gourmand dessert, it descends into an ethereal lime mousse, pistachio crunch, Japanese sponge, and fresh raspberry compote. Your heart skips faster and your spirits float higher as your fork uncovers the artwork of merging flavors, colors, and textures.
There are bakeries and sweets shops — and then there are patisseries: Aromë is the latter.
The bright white shop with bursts of floral pinks and modern Italian seating opened in the summer in downtown Hastings, helmed by Chef Vera Gjelaj, who was previously responsible for the artistic desserts at One if by Land, Two if by Sea in the West Village for 15 years. She trained at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, which has since merged with the Institute of Culinary Education, and at L’Ecole Valrhona, a professional pastry school in Brooklyn.
But Gjelaj and her brother, Zef, sold One if by Land, freeing her up to realize a dream she’s held for more than 20 years. “There, it was extremely fancy and limited to what you can do. Here, every day I can do a new creation,” she says, mentioning that she’s also experimenting with savory dishes.
Gjelaj’s journey to this moment began in Albania before she migrated to Montenegro and arrived in New York in the 1980s with her small child and another on the way. She put herself through beauty school by cleaning houses, and later she worked in her brother’s Ciao restaurant in Eastchester, before opening ChouChou Hair Salon in Hastings 24 years ago.
Gjelaj’s two career passions are a study of how contrasts can collaborate: precision and experimentation. “They’re both creative, both [about] creating something from nothing, making people feel good,” she says. “I get to see a happy face in the end.”
Croissants — from traditional to rolled, stuffed, and dipped — are the most popular, especially her hazelnut croissants using Gianduja hazelnut-chocolate paste. She’ll explore pastries from other cultures, such as chocolate babka and jam- and chocolate-filled beignets. Her house-made gelato flavors change but are offered year-round, kept at precise temperatures in a refrigerated case from Modalita, made in Bergamo, Italy.
The most beautiful of all are the avant-garde individual desserts. Take the Hawaii, gleaming in sunny yellow with coconut dacquoise, mango compote, and hazelnut crunch. Another to sink your fork into is the one with almond mousse, sponge, and pineapple compote.
“Everything has to be precise to the gram, and every flavor balanced,” Gjelaj says. “But another thing in pastry is there are no rules. I find so much joy in this.”
Aromë Caffe and Patisserie
Hastings-on-Hudson
914.231.5771
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Related: 5 Westchester Bakeries to Try for International Eats and Treats
