The Bakery in Ghent by Belgian pastry chef Joost Arijs opens

The Bakery in Ghent with loaves of bread lined up on the wall of chrome interior cafe — (Image credit: Jean-Pierre Gabriel)

Belgian pastry chef and chocolatier Joost Arijs has just opened a new bakery in Ghent, with interiors designed by Glenn Sestig Architects.

The Bakery in Ghent with Chrome and white interiors

The location's name, The Bakery, is straightforward but what it serves is not. Arijs drew on the mastery of flavour and aesthetics he showcases in the confections of his next-door cake and chocolate shop – where delicacies include a canary yellow, cloud-soft cake made from lemongrass and mango mousse, and pretty chocolate bars filled with gooey hazelnut filling – and translated it into bread and pastries.

The Bakery in Ghent with eggs and jams on chrome shelves and bread on the counter

Loaves of sourdough, rye, brioche and baguettes are displayed in the chrome interiors like art objects. Alongside them are croissants, pain aux raisins, and other breakfast staples that have been baked to achieve the perfect blend of crunchiness and doughy softness.

Pop in to enjoy breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack with a coffee at the bar, or take home a loaf of bread along with some of The Bakery’s compotes, jams and eggs.

Arijs worked with Glenn Sestig Architects to create The Bakery's sleek, chrome interiors. Sestig is best known for creating monolithic residential and commercial structures that blend 20th- and 21st-century styles (see more in the monograph Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary, which includes an essay by Wallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki). Here, brushed stainless steel and bread shelves in walnut are complemented by weighty black stools by Belgian designer Bram Vanderbeke that face windows looking out onto Ghent.

These lustrous interiors, a unique marriage of industrial and natural materials, offer a striking backdrop to the richly textured loaves on display.

thebakery-joostarijs.be

Vlaanderenstraat 28, 9000 Gent, open Tuesday - Saturday, 8am – 6pm

Mary Cleary is a writer based in London and New York. Previously beauty & grooming editor at Wallpaper*, she is now a contributing editor, alongside writing for various publications on all aspects of culture.