The Parisian Pastry Chefs Serving Some Of Brisbane’s Best Croissants By The Bay
A delicate daily ritual
By Victoria Lewis | 7th September 2026Out by the bay, a passionate pair of pastry chefs, Valentin Proux and Lucas Raffin, are taking years of French training and quietly cooking up some of Brisbane’s best pastries, taking pride in the craft’s time-honoured traditions while adding the element of surprise.
Needless to say, when Valentin and Lucas fire up the ovens at Manly Boathouse Patisserie each morning, it’s well before dawn, and well before the first coffee run. Yet, like clockwork, come sunrise, their pastry cabinet is full and the caffeinated buzz of the day begins. Behind this daily ritual are two French-trained pastry chefs with years of experience and a shared dedication to their craft.
Discover the story behind their pair’s sell-out pastry cabinet, and why these flaky creations are not to be slept on.
From French beginnings
Valentin honed his skills at Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, before bouncing between patisseries throughout France under accomplished pastry chefs. Along the way came an understanding of the patience, precision, and discipline behind traditional French pastry-making, from exacting lamination to the delicate finishing touches that can transform something technically accomplished into something beautiful. In Valentin’s pastry-making, evolution and tradition can be coalescent.
This sentiment is shared by his fellow chef, Lucas, whose rigorous journey saw him complete a highly competitive and rigorous apprenticeship at Compangnon du Devoir – which happens to be one of France’s oldest and most respected artisan training organisations. These years dedicated to perfecting his skills left him with not only an appreciation for tradition, but a desire to create outside the box.
Where tradition meets innovation
The pair’s traditional foundations remain front and centre at Manly Boathouse, but Valentin and Lacas are equally interested in how their training can help them push the craft forward. Their pastry cabinet is constantly rotating, where classical technique becomes the starting point for seasonal flavours, new combinations, and pastries that leave room for surprise.
This balance between ingenuity and tradition is where they’ve found their sweet spot. Each morning, the Manly Boathouse cabinet fills with buttery croissants, beautifully glazed seasonal tarts, and innovative reinterpretations of French classics that are enough to tempt even the most steadfast pain au chocolat fan. Seriously, these pastries are well worth the drive (and are the perfect complement to your cold foam coffee).
For all the precision happening behind the scenes, what reaches the customer at Manly Boathouse Patisserie is far simpler: something beautiful to eat with a morning coffee by the water. And tomorrow, they’ll wake before dawn and do it all again, and trust us, you’ll want to be first in line when they do. Discover the full Manly Boathouse Patisserie menu here.
Imagery: @manlyboathouse
