Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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48 | JANUARY + FEBRUARY 2015 nshoremag.com Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoi- nette—the creams and blues of her private salon behind Ver- sailles—as well as other pastry shops including one belonging to a relative in Scaletta. "Older people held court there," says Fiore. "It was the first place to open and the last place to close; it was where the public telephone was—it was the epicenter, which is something it would be nice to see more of." In addition to popping in from the street for a little something sweet, people call on Fiore to help them celebrate life's grand mo - ments. "I'm part of it," she says, "and it is kind of beautiful." There have been weddings, and birth- days, and even a few requests for gender-reveal cakes. "It's exciting to be in on that," she beams. "Peo- ple primarily come here for joyous occasions." Having just passed her first-year anniversary mark, it didn't take her long to find the kind of kinships she so values. Alongside the bonds formed over pastry, there's the element of beauty. "The reason I am a pastry chef and not a chef, and the reason I do wedding cakes and not scratch ravioli, is because there is a beauty to it," explains Fiore. "I came to it a frustrated artist." Her goal is to make things both beautiful and flavorful—just what a good wedding cake ought to be. Describing pastry in America, she says, "There are two currents—the scratch, simple rustic stuff, and it's delicious, and then there's the beautiful." Marrying the two is something she says was never lost in Europe. For Fiore, "They are equally important." Her reputation for excellence is gaining momentum, and her commissions prove it. In 2010, she composed a six-foot interpretive sugar sculpture based on the op - era Carmen for the Boston Ballet's annual gala. And this past Novem- ber, she made an edible cake and sugar sculpture titled "Reverie" for Peabody Essex Museum's "Dream" gala. With great passion she describes spun sugar clouds and pillows incorporating embroi - dery work, Dupioni silk textures, and sugar flowers—which she makes at an "elfin station" in the basement—all supported by PVC pipes, copper, and phalanges. Having studied under Delphin Gomes and Stephane Glacier, who is known for his sugar work, as well as in Taipei and Tokyo, where she learned about Asian- style pastries on behalf of an employer who was looking to fuse traditional French and Asian flavor profiles, her training is both classic and a bit far-flung. Today, green tea and cherry blossoms make occasional appearances in her French macaroons. Daily offerings include her enormously popular almond flour macaroons, scratch morning pas- tries like classic croissants, pain au saige, and pain au chocolate—"the old faithfuls." Sometimes she will get playful with fruits and cheeses, and all items in her case are easily paired with dark roast coffees from neighboring Atomic Café. (Other local purveyors include Brooksby and Marini Farms.) She also travels once a week to the Chelsea Market, and a great many specialty ingredients are imported from France. Fiore insists on using Fair Trade Belgian chocolate. "You are not going to find anything hy - drogenated here. It's real food." Fiore notes Americans' ex- treme relationship with food, es- pecially sweets, which they often approach with a feast- or-famine attitude. For her, quality trumps quantity. "It's about having a small bit of something very good, regularly," she explains. "Small treats give you a little bit of joy and happiness. And that's what we are here for." CONTACT Melita Fiore Pâtisserie 83 Washington St. Salem 978-594-8747 melitafio e.com photographs by Elise Donoghue