Le Parc has partnered with self-taught pastry chef Jared Melamed of La Tarte Pâtisserie on a new six-dessert collection. The Citizen sat down for a first taste.
Chef Jared Melamed plates his Charlotte red fruits creation. Picture: Supplied
There’s a particular kind of confidence that comes from having spent nearly two decades tasting your way across more than 45 countries with no formal training to fall back on – just instinct, discipline and an obsessive attention to detail.
That’s the energy Jared Melamed appears to have brought to the table when Le Parc, the French-inspired food emporium, tapped him for a new collaboration.
The group behind the restuarant invited The Citizen in to taste the new dessert collection born out of his partnership with the brand.
Melamed is the self-taught chef behind La Tarte Pâtisserie, a name that’s become shorthand in South African pastry circles for precision without pretension.
Sitting across from him at Hyde Park Corner’s Le Parc as a small group of journalists devoured his meticulously crafted creations one by one, it was clear his story isn’t a polished one (even if the desserts sitting in front of us were).
Years of trial, error and self-instruction led him on the kind of career path that makes the finished plate in front of you feel earned.
“My pastry identity is shaped by a deep respect for craftsmanship, restraint and honesty in flavour. Every element on the plate needs a purpose, whether it’s there for texture, balance or emotion,” he said.
That philosophy is the throughline across all six desserts in the new collection, now available at Le Parc Hyde Park and soon to land at the new Le Parc Polofields, when it opens this July.
A quick note before we get into it: I have a nut allergy, so three of the six desserts – the Mille-Feuille, Miss Noisette and Tiramisu Cloud – were assessed on description and presentation only, not taste (and this is reiterated below).
Miss Exotic – tasted
Passion fruit curd and coconut mousse sit on a pâte sucrée base, and it’s exactly as bright as it sounds. The tartness of the passion fruit cuts straight through the coconut before the mousse has a chance to feel heavy, and the shortcrust base holds its structure right to the last bite instead of going soft under the filling.
Who it’s for: This is the dessert for the diner who treats pudding as a palate cleanser – someone coming off a rich main who wants something that reads as dessert but eats light.
It’s also a strong pick for anyone who finds most patisserie too sweet; the passion fruit keeps this one honest and it was one of my favourites.
Le Citron – tasted
A silky lemon insert sits beneath a Japanese lemon sponge, the whole thing wrapped in a white chocolate shell that perfectly mimicks the citrus’ textured skin.
The shell slices smoothly on the first cut, giving way to a sponge that’s noticeably lighter than a standard Victoria-style base, with the lemon curd doing the heavy lifting on flavour rather than the chocolate.
Who it’s for: Citrus purists. If you’re the kind of Le Parc diner who orders the lemon tart over the chocolate fondant every time, this is built for you. It’s tart-forward enough to satisfy that craving without leaning on sugar to compensate.
Mille-Feuille – not tasted (nut allergy)
On paper, this is the most classically indulgent option on the menu: caramelised puff pastry layered with vanilla crème pâtissière, salted caramel and toasted pecans.
Who it’d be for: Traditionalists who want their pâtisserie to look and taste like pâtisserie; flaky, buttery, unapologetically rich. The salted caramel and toasted pecan combination suggests this is built for diners who want dessert to feel like a genuine indulgence.
Tiramisu Cloud – not tasted (nut allergy)
A reworked take on the Italian classic: coffee-soaked sponge, coffee almond praline and a white chocolate velour finish.
The velour coating gave it a fluffy, almost velvet-like exterior that’s more visually striking than a traditional tiramisu.
Who it’d be for: Coffee lovers who find classic tiramisu a tad overdone. The added praline crunch suggests more textural variation than the original, which should appeal to visitors at Le Parc who want a coffee dessert with more going on than sponge and cocoa dust.
Red Fruits Charlotte – tasted, and loved
Vanilla whipped ganache, strawberry marmalade and fresh red fruits, and it’s the closest thing on the menu to feeling like a French bistro dessert plated for a special occasion.
The ganache is genuinely whipped rather than just soft-set, so it has air and lightness to it, and the marmalade brings enough acidity that the fresh fruit doesn’t feel like just a garnish.
Who it’s for: Diners looking for the “special occasion” dessert on the menu; this is the one to order for a birthday or anniversary.
It’s generous without being overly rich, and the fresh fruit element makes it feel seasonal and delightful, rather than heavy. This one joins the Miss Exotic on my list of favorites.
Miss Noisette – not tasted (nut allergy)
Chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline sit beneath a milk chocolate mirror glaze, the perfection of the glaze alone is worth noting.
A genuine mirror shine that suggests real technical control in the kitchen. Think of this one as the most straightforwardly chocolate-forward option in the collection.
Who it’d be for: Committed chocolate-and-hazelnut aficianados. Think; anyone who’d order a Nutella dessert without hesitation.
Based on the composition, this is likely the richest option on the menu and probably the one to skip if you’re looking for something lighter to close a meal.
The craft behind the counter
What stood out most, watching Melamed talk through the range, was the process behind all of them and his enduring passion.
Every recipe on this menu goes through 20 to 30 days of testing and refinement before it’s considered finished: repeated tastings, ratio adjustments, remeasuring, over and over, before anything is allowed to carry the La Tarte name, and now Le Parc’s.
That discipline tracks with Melamed’s own description of his approach: nothing on the plate without a reason, whether that reason is texture, balance or emotion.
It’s also consistent with what Le Parc owner Melissa Broodryk said of the partnership: “Le Parc is a luxury French-style café, and La Tarte makes luxury French pastries – it’s a match made in pâtisserie heaven and there’s no better space for this level of craftsmanship to live.”
Two further pieces round out the wider collection beyond the six reviewed here: a Marble Travel Cake inspired by 17th-century travel cakes built to survive long journeys without refrigeration, and a French Vanilla Flan rooted in medieval custard tarts.
Both nod to pâtisserie history rather than trend, which fits the tone of the range as a whole.
The desserts will rotate on a seasonal, demand-driven basis, and Melamed is reportedly already developing custom creations that will be exclusive to the Le Parc Emporium – so this collection, as it stands, is a starting point rather than a fixed menu.
– Kaunda Selisho attended the tasting upon invitation by tashas group.
