Chez Jean Claude Patisserie, West Leederville

As far as bakeries go, I havent really found many that float my boat... There are so many that do fluffy white generic loaves, bright fake pink iced buns and flavourless pastries. 

But maybe my view of bakeries has been skewed, because Im lucky enough to have found the best bakery in Perth, Chez Jean Claude swiss bakery. This is somewhere I drive outta my way to get all manner of baked goods!

I first went there with a work colleague who took me there on a lunch hour, and I feel in love with their La Parisienne baguettes. For a while I went in there and got a different one each time, there are so many! Tuna, chicken and avocado, shanghai duck, ham and salad, farmhouse brie, salami and cheese, chicken curry,  vegan too! There are more I just dont remember! These days I just get the same one every time, because theyre SO good. Chicken and avocado. I also always get an almond croissant but thats a whole other story...

The Parisienne in the picture is cut in half, theyre really long and thin, which is the best part about them. Now, alot of people associate a crusty exterior and soft interior of a loaf of bread with quality. This is usually true. But I dont really love those loafs, I find them a bit difficult to eat in a sandwich and you need waaaay too much filling to get over all the bread... With these baguettes theyre small enough to be deliciously chewy without falling apart due to too much soft interior. Its there, but its mainly chewy and just so delicious. 

You really have to go and try one of these to believe just how good they are. These are the best baguettes in Perth by a mile, and the fillings are super tasty as well. Chicken and avocado is so delicious, its got lots of chicken, as well as some great mayo and soft avocado, which is a dream when paired with the crusty chewy bread. S gets the chicken curry, which is a fairly traditional creamy, tangy curry sauce (made with curry powder I would say, its not spicy at all) with chunks of chicken, sliced cucumber and lettuce. Its also really tasty... Im getting hungry just thinking about them, I really want one!

Aside from the delicious La Parisiennes, they made an amazing almond croissant. Oh man... Its light, flaky, with a topping of slivered almonds and icing sugar. The inside has a delicious naturally almond flavoured paste/creme, and its just. so. good.

They make awesome breads, the olive bread, if its still the same as when I got it a while back, is moreish and delicious. You cant help but eat more and more of it! Something new in their range is are the tapas breads. Theyre basically just flatbreads with spices on top before theyre baked. We chose the curry, chilli, and plain breads, and took them home to have with a BBQ. S just about ate himself to death with the curry bread, mopping up the juices from the meat and filling it with sliced lamb and salad. Lightly grilled on the BBQ they were really nice. The curry one was our favourite, it has some chunks of chillies, as well as whole spices - it was SO GOOD!

The chilli bread was nice too, a touch of heat, with some seasoning on the top that Im not too sure what it was - S loves chilli but he was so taken with the curry bread that the chilli one didnt impress him that much!

The plain one just has S&P and a bit of garlic on it, and its nice - but the curry one was a winner for us! Loads of flavour and extra chunks of chilli - it was worth driving back over to Leederville to get them for another BBQ!

Seriously, just walk into this bakery and you'll be overwhelmed with choice... Everything Ive had there has been above average, and I drive across town to get their La Parisiennes, tapas bread and almond croissants. You can sit down and eat there as well, get some pastries, pies, sausage rolls etc and a coffee or a freshly squeezed juice.

GO HERE!!