Eve Jeffery
Eclair at the Bay is a homemade pastry business entirely dedicated to the creation of contemporary eclairs.
After losing his job as a chef in a local restaurant, owing to COVID-19, Pavel Stolarsky got to thinking about what he could do that he loved, which was also new and unique. ‘My partner Mary and I came up with the idea to make eclairs, aiming at the highest quality possible, with tradition and authenticity in mind, sourcing fresh and local ingredients. Since then everything has moved so quickly, from the recipes, to marketing, to wholesale and customer delivery.
‘Eclair means “lightning” in French and my idea is to light this town with a new concept of desserts made from choux!’
Pavel has been working as a pastry chef and baker for seven years. ‘My passion for pastry began when I started working in Michelin Star restaurants in London for Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing. Rigour, consistency and creativity were the keywords of those years of experiences; to learn how to make desserts that are not only beautiful, but delicious too.’
Pavel, originally from Russia, decided to bring this knowledge to Byron and create something unique, elegant and tasty.
Hailing from the home of the eclair, Mary is a graphic designer and founder of Studio Marius, a contemporary creative studio with a focus on branding. She designed the whole brand identity for Eclair at the Bay.
Pavel says he has always loved working with the choux dough, which is the base of the eclair. ‘I think the desserts made from choux dough are very delicate in flavour and can be beautifully done as well. The eclair is a classic from this family. Very gentle, not heavy to eat, the eclairs of today can be decorated and filled with so many flavours – from classic dark chocolate, to a light citrusy filling.’
Both Pavel and Mary also love the delivery side of their new venture. ‘Seeing a smile on a customer’s face when we deliver them the box on Sunday morning makes us really happy!’, they say.
Eclairs are visually attractive; they are colourful, delicately decorated with meringue, nuts, and edible glitters. They are also very tasty, delicate and light – filled with creams.
‘We’ve had so many great reviews since we started. Our customers love the taste as much as they like the delivery service. We are very happy with the feedback – we didn’t expect such huge interest in such a short amount of time,’ say Pavel and Mary, who are planning on extending their delivery area to reach a much wider audience. They are also moving towards events, catering and weddings. ‘We do wholesale to some local cafes and this is something we are in the process of growing. In the future, we hope to open a pastry shop.’
Eclair at the Bay is preparing an exclusive Trio for Father’s Day with three different chocolate flavours. These are available to pre-order from Thursday for delivery on Sunday 6 September. Such a great idea for all dads and chocolate lovers.
‘We also just launched a new product this week – a box of nine chocolate profiteroles to share with friends and family. That’s available now on our website’.
You can find out more about Eclair at the Bay from www.eclairatthebay.com and check out their mouth-watering Instagram page: @eclair.at.the.bay.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
