French cereal for New York shoppers - 3rd March 2023

At a French bakery in New York, people have been outside for hours. Most are waiting for the latest product - croissant cereal.

Alyssa Ryncarz: "We got here at 5:45 in the morning in our car and the line outside started forming at 6:30 so we've been out here for over an hour."

People are ready to wait in the cold and dark for ages. So what makes these mini croissants so special?

Baker Gautier Coiffard explains how they're made.

Gautier Coiffard: "So the cereal croissants are basically the same dough that we have for our croissants so it takes two or three days to make the croissant dough. It's rolled out like a classic croissant and then we flatten it very thinly. We roll the mini croissants one by one so, it takes hours. Then we bake them, we add sugar, and then we dehydrate them. So it's about two days on top of a classic croissant."

The croissant cereal is prepared everyday by hand and it's a slow process. The bakers only produce small quantities so they aren't cheap - $50 a packet. Many people think they're worth it.

Kat Sandoval: "The price is a little high but it's it's unique, you can't really get it anywhere else, so."

Coiffard moved to New York from France in 2012 and met his partner. Proper bread was impossible to find so he started making his own. In the pandemic, friends and family requested it too. Before long, strangers wanted some as well. 'L'Appartement 4F' bakery was born.

The bakery's French products are enjoyed by both French and American customers. But there are different opinions about the croissant cereal. That might be a positive thing as quantities are small.

Customers don't mind waiting, but luckily, not everyone's planning to buy the little croissants.

Kabir Zafar: "About an hour and a half we've been waiting here."

Kabir Zafar: "I'm here today because I've heard they have really good croissants."