The history of Parisian tea rooms is intimately tied to the history of the Ladurée family. It all began in 1862, when Louis Ernest Ladurée, a man from France’s southwest, created a bakery in Paris at 16 rue Royale.

The same year, the first stone of the Garnier Opera House was laid, and the area surrounding the Madeleine was rapidly developing into one of the capital’s most important and elegant business districts. The most prestigious names in French luxury had already taken up residence in this neighborhood.

In 1871, while Baron Haussmann was giving Paris a “new face”, a fire at the bakery opened up the possibility of transforming it into a pastry shop. The decoration of the shop was entrusted to Jules Cheret, a famous turn-of-the-century painter and poster artist. Mr. Cheret sought inspiration from the painting techniques used for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Garnier Opera House. By integrating them into his work, he added depth and relief to the ceilings decorated with chubby cherubs, notably the “Pastry Angel” who later inspired the House’s graphic identity.