Point G Plaisirs Gourmands

By the age of 15, Julien Reignier had set his sights on a career coated in sugar. And when it came time for his studies, he wouldn't take the easy route either. With his diploma as a pastry chef in hand, he earned a second as chocolatier, and then completed a third in confectionery, all at renowned institutes in France. To hone his sweet-making skills he worked alongside some of France's best-known chefs before setting out to travel the globe to work as a pastry chef in Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and Asia.

In 2008, Julien was whipping up a recipe for his very own business. He set up shop in Montreal, because he'd always really wanted to live here. French pastries of every kind are not hard to find in Montreal, but Julien saw that one in particular was underrepresented: macaroons.

Point G opened its doors in 2008 on Mont-Royal Avenue, offering merely two flavours of macaroons. Within an hour, the boutique sold out. The next day Julien made more flavours, which also quickly sold out, a pattern that continued until there were literally dozens of flavours at his shop. When the organizers of a corporate event sent in an order for 50,000 macaroons, Julien spent the entire night preparing each and every one by hand. There was no doubt ― his little boutique had caught on.