Bound together by ties of good taste, French-born pastry chefs Jean-Claude Ferré and Khalid Kaskou now have more in common than a love of good chocolate – they have also teamed up to provide the delectable eats for the Eastside’s most popular bakery, Belle Pastry.

Coffee and eclair at Belle Pastry

Both Jean-Claude and Khalid grew up in the trade.  Jean-Claude started out making pastries in his mother’s kitchen in Normandy, and went off to culinary school at age 14.  There he discovered a passion for chocolate and studied both in Paris and then in Switzerland under the celebrated Master chocolate-maker Roland Stauss.  Graduating from Ecole Ferrandi in 1969, Jean-Claude’s career has spanned over 40 years and has taken him from Paris to Saudi Arabia, Alaska and finally, Bellevue.  Jean-Claude has operated several successful business ventures with his skill as a chocolatier and croissant-maker, including Crazy Croissants in Anchorage, AK, and The French Confection in the Puget Sound.  Finally, Jean-Claude opened Belle Pastry in 2003.

Khalid Kaskou grew up in a bakery in Paris – run by his parents.  He and his sister, Nadia, worked in the bakery from a very young age.  Though they pursued other careers after school, the bakery business was in their blood. Several years ago Nadia found herself in Redmond, WA, because of her husband’s work at Microsoft, and while she enjoyed the varied dining options to be found there, one thing was missing – a bakery like the one she had left behind in Paris.  Two years later Khalid came to the rescue and they opened the popular Le Rendez-Vous French Bakery in Redmond’s Bella Bottega shopping center.

Jean-Claude Ferré, Khalid Kaskou, and Kathryn Campbell at the International Baking Industry Exposition

Earlier this year, when Jean-Claude was thinking of retiring to spend more time with his family, he and Khalid connected and the two businesses came up with a plan.  Belle Pastry and Le Rendez-Vous would merge, retaining Belle Pastry as the parent company, while Jean-Claude would remain the head Pastry Chef.  Khalid would take over the managing of the business and keep his hand in the dough as well.

This dynamic duo are joined Kathryn Campbell, a renowned pastry chef in her own right, to continue the legacy of excellent pastries and confections that began in their childhood kitchens in France.