Mattie Pâtisserie is a small-batch French pâtisserie on Darnell Street in Fitzroy, New Plymouth, run by two French pastry chefs, Mathieu and Tiphaine. The couple met twelve years ago while training and mastering their craft in the South of France, built their skills through a Diploma in Catering & Hospitality, apprenticeships and work in prestigious French restaurants, and eventually settled in Taranaki — opening their own pastry shop in December 2023, an occasion they describe as beyond their wildest dreams. The name blends the first syllables of their names, a symbol of the unity and joy they bring to their craft.
The cabinet is anchored by French classics — the Lemon Meringue Tart, the rum-and-vanilla Canelé and the citrus-glazed Madeleine — alongside a rotating cast of seasonal individual creations that changes every month, guided by fresh, seasonal and authentic ingredients. Everything is 100% handmade from scratch by the two chefs themselves, and several creations, including L'exotique and Choco-Tonka, contain no gluten products.
You'll find the Fitzroy shop open Friday and Saturday from 10am to 1pm, and the team at Farmers Market Taranaki every Sunday from 9am to 12pm. Boxes of pâtisserie delights can be ordered for events and celebrations, with pickup or delivery Wednesday to Saturday and at least a week's notice. The whole venture runs on one simple idea: infusing everyday life with a little French joie de vivre, one exquisite pastry at a time.
Twelve years ago, in the South of France, two young pastry chefs met while training and mastering their craft — and their love story for pastry began. Today, Mathieu and Tiphaine are Mattie Pâtisserie, handcrafting authentic French desserts from their shop on Darnell Street in Fitzroy, New Plymouth, and sharing what they call a slice of French culture with Taranaki.
Both chefs came up the classical way: several years of study, a Diploma in Catering & Hospitality, apprenticeships, and experience in prestigious restaurants across the South of France. Then came a thirst for exploration — a planned one-year adventure in New Zealand that turned into seven. A road trip through Taranaki left fond memories, and when the opportunity arose with a commercial kitchen, they knew it was meant to be. In December 2023 they opened their own pastry shop, an occasion they describe as beyond their wildest dreams. The name itself blends the first syllables of Mathieu and Tiphaine — a symbol of the unity and joy they bring to their craft.
Mattie Pâtisserie is anchored by The Classics — the French benchmarks done properly. The Lemon Meringue Tart layers shortbread pastry and lemon curd under a soft Italian meringue, brightened with lime and lemon zest. The Canelé is all about texture: a caramelised crust giving way to a soft custard centre flavoured with rum and vanilla. And the Madeleine is a sponge cake of honey and brown butter with vanilla, coated in a citrus glaze.
Around those staples, the display changes with the seasons. Fresh, seasonal and authentic ingredients guide the chefs' creativity, and new individual dessert creations appear every month — giving regulars a reason to keep coming back to see what's new in the cabinet.
The seasonal range is where the couple's playful side shows. The Paris-Brest is a choux puff packed with praliné pâtissière, praliné mousse and praliné spread, surrounded by roasted hazelnuts. The Pear and Chocolate Tart pairs almond frangipane and baked pears with 72% chocolate, vanilla chantilly and fresh pears, while its blueberry sibling layers almond frangipane and baked blueberries under vanilla chantilly. The Chocolate Peanuts and Caramel Tart combines soft caramel, roasted and candied peanuts and chocolate ganache — indulgence, layer by layer.
Those avoiding gluten are not an afterthought here. Several seasonal creations — including L'exotique, the Choco-hazelnut, the Choco-Tonka and the Raspberry and Pistachio dessert — are made with no gluten products, yet they look and eat like any other pâtisserie in the cabinet. L'exotique, with its cocoa biscuit, coconut sponge cake, coconut and lime zest mousse, passion fruit curd and dark chocolate shell, is a tropical postcard in dessert form.
The Fitzroy shop opens Friday and Saturday from 10am to 1pm — a short window that suits the handmade, small-batch nature of the work. Every Sunday, the stall pops up at the Farmers Market Taranaki from 9am to 12pm, bringing the same pâtisseries to the market crowd. Planning something bigger? Mattie Pâtisserie takes orders for events, crafting unique boxes of pâtisserie delights with pickup or delivery Wednesday to Saturday — and because everything is freshly handmade, a minimum of one week's notice applies.
Everything is 100% handmade from scratch by the two pastry chefs themselves, and the ethos is simple: celebrate tradition, use real ingredients, and make room in the week for a small moment of joy shared with friends and family. As they put it, it's all about la joie de vivre — for the joy of life, one exquisite pastry at a time.