Butter Pastry is a French-inspired patisserie based at 472 Tuam Street, Phillipstown, Christchurch, run by chef Corentin Esquenet. Corentin moved to Ōtautahi Christchurch in 2017 to turn his passion for food into a career, completing a diploma in Patisserie and winning gold at the 2019 Nestle's Toque D'Or.
Butter was created during the global pandemic, when a planned move overseas to gain experience, a typical career path for young New Zealand chefs, became impossible. Instead, Corentin built Butter as a way to keep developing his skills, showcase his creativity, and continue learning about pastry. The food is described as food for celebrating special events and sharing with people you love, rather than an everyday treat.
Butter is known for French-inspired pastries such as tarts and canelés, and has been featured in Cuisine Magazine, Stuff.co.nz, and MN Uniform, as well as a short documentary by Story Bites. Orders are available online for pickup or delivery Wednesday through Saturday, alongside a weekly Saturday Window for walk-up customers.
Butter Pastry is a French-inspired patisserie based at 472 Tuam Street, Phillipstown, Christchurch, run by chef Corentin Esquenet. Corentin moved to Ōtautahi Christchurch in 2017 to turn his passion for food into a career, a journey that included completing a diploma in Patisserie and winning gold at the 2019 Nestle's Toque D'Or.
Corentin's plan, like many young chefs in New Zealand, was to move overseas to gain further experience. A global pandemic put a stop to that path. Instead, he created Butter as a way to keep developing his skills, showcase his creativity, and continue learning everything he could about pastry. In his own words, 'the food I make is the food I like to eat. Not everyday, but sometimes. It's food to celebrate the special events in life with, and to share with the people we love.'
Butter has built a reputation around French-inspired pastries, with Cuisine Magazine specifically calling out 'exquisite French-inspired tarts, canelés' shared on Butter's Instagram feed, describing how the business achieved success within just a year of starting. Stuff.co.nz profiled Corentin under the headline 'From Reims to Christchurch: Frenchman's pastries take off in New Zealand,' while MN Uniform described him as a pastry chef who 'draws on creativity from many fields making desserts inspired mostly by French patisseries.' Butter has also been the subject of a short documentary by Story Bites, exploring Corentin's passion for making traditionally inspired, contemporary pastry.
Butter operates through two main channels. Online orders are available Wednesday through Saturday, for pickup or delivery. Separately, there's a weekly Saturday Window, a walk-up option running from 10am until 12pm. For the 2026 season, online orders were set to open on January 14th, with the Saturday Window opening on January 31st.
Butter Pastry is located at 472 Tuam Street, Phillipstown, Christchurch 8011. Customers can get in touch by email at [email protected], or follow the business on Instagram at @butter_nz, where much of Butter's visual identity and following has been built.
Whether ordering online for pickup or delivery during the week, or dropping by the Saturday Window, Butter Pastry offers a small, chef-led take on French patisserie in the heart of Christchurch.