During the pandemic lock-downs, most of us indulged a little, watched a little too much tv (which is apparent by the growth of Netflix subscriptions), exercised a little less, and ate a little more! But some of us discovered a little bit more about ourselves. Meet Massimo, the 11-year-old who has found his passion for baking during the pandemic and has brought Kuwait some of the most delicious croissants and pain au chocolats that we have ever tasted!
Massimo was born in Kuwait and attends the Lycée Français de Koweït (the French School). On the surface, we have a regular kid who enjoys science at school, loves graffiti, swimming, sailing, and playing football! But deep down, Massimo is a young boy who has been inspired by his grandmother and her cooking, and while getting bored during the lock-downs, he tried his hand at baking. He chose to start baking over other types of cooking because they were unable to get fresh breads and croissants from the bakery during the lock-downs.
Out of kindness, Massimo decided to share his croissants and breads with his neighbors, and they were hooked! His neighbors encouraged him to sell the baked goods on Instagram and it picked up like wildfire. To keep up with the demand, Massimo and his family had to buy a professional oven. The conventional home ovens were just not meeting the demand, nor were they giving the level of crispy perfection that Massimo was after.
The pain au chocolats and the croissants are the most popular items on Massimo’s menu, customers often tell him that they are transported to Paris with the delicious pastries. His delicious rounds of bread are also worth trying!
After perfecting croissants, pain au chocolats, and loaves of bread, Massimo started cooking with his dad even more. He now also makes burger buns, pizzas, cookies, macarons, meringues, and zeppole di San Guiseppe (similar to a donut, it is an Italian pastry consisting of a baked dough ball usually topped with powdered sugar and can be filled with various sweet treats). Yum!
Although Massimo doesn’t know what he wants to be when he’s older, (which is fair; he is still 11 years old) we think that he is a talented young chef with a bright future ahead of him in whatever he decides to do!
For now, along with all his hobbies, Massimo loves holidaying in his home-town of Corsica Island in France, where his favorite pastimes are climbing trees, swimming in the river, and all sorts of outdoor activities.
Some of the Bazaar team members are a little obsessed with croissants, we won’t name names here, but our verdict? The croissants and pain au chocolats are light and fluffy, and super crispy on the outside. They are darkened to perfection which adds another dimension of gloriousness. These are some of the best croissants we have ever tasted, and we are comparing these to the ones we had in France – the home of croissants! We are obsessed!
Go ahead, try some and tell us what you think! To order, visit @massimo_kid_cook on Instagram (and follow while you are there) or WhatsApp 6681 3202. We promise you won’t be disappointed!
