Ala Nahal came to Calgary in 1988 to work as a chef at the Winter Olympics, where he met a woman named Char. “She was a chef as well,” Ala says. “I moved from Paris to Calgary for her.” Ala and Char worked in the industry until 1999, when they decided to open their own bakery, Patisserie du Soleil – or “Pastry of the Sun”.
Ala’s career as a pastry chef began with the opening of the bakery. “I’d worked around Calgary before Patisserie du Soleil, so I knew my competitors and colleagues and how they worked - and that’s how I knew what to do differently,” Ala says. “We are proud of being different; it’s part of why we love our work.”
Among its distinguished clientele, this world-class bakery has served freshly made desserts to former United States president Bill Clinton, former prime minister Jean Chretien and current Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
