Paris–Brest

History

The round pastry in the form of a wheel was created in 1910 by Louis Durand, pâtissier of Maisons-Laffitte, at the request of Pierre Giffard, to commemorate the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race he had initiated in 1891. Its circular shape is representative of a wheel. It became popular with riders on the Paris–Brest cycle race, partly because of its energizing high caloric value, and is now found in pâtisseries all over France. Alan Richman of GQ magazine named the Paris–Brest pastry at the Balsan restaurant of the Elysian Hotel (now Waldorf Astoria Chicago), Chicago the best dessert in the U.S. for 2010.