CAKES, COFFEE AND CAN CAN GIRLS IN BATH - A large crowd turned out for the opening of a new Patisserie in High Street, Bath - opposite the Guildhall.

CAKES, COFFEE AND CAN CAN GIRLS IN BATH

A large crowd turned out for the opening of a new Patisserie in High Street, Bath – opposite the Guildhall.

As one of the last acts of his year in office, retiring Mayor of Bath, Councillor Colin Barrett opened the new Patisserie Valerie. He was accompanied by the Patisserie Valerie can can girls and Andrew Cooper, the Bath City Centre Manager

A cheque was also presented to the Mayor for his charity 'The Mayor of Bath's Relief Fund', which helps people in need in the City.

Patisserie Valerie until recently, was a familiar site in London but relatively unknown outside the Capital.

Founded in 1926 by a Belgian - Madame Valerie - it has over the years welcomed many celebrities through its doors where they and others can indulge themselves, whilst watching the world go by.

Patisserie Valerie’s Chief Executive Officer Paul May said,

“We recently opened two new outlets in Cambridge and Canterbury. The volume of customers at each location is greatly exceeding our expectations, which is fantastic.

"Some might find this surprising – after all, we keep being told that high streets are in decline and struggling to find enough customers. In times of recession, people need an affordable treat to cheer themselves up – and when things are going well, they want to celebrate.

"We provide a dazzling array of pure indulgence in the form of our delicious cake range, but we do not neglect the basics of breakfasts, lunches etc matched with quick and excellent service. Many business breakfast clubs use our facilities early in the mornings for example. We also provide businesses with a delivered catering service and at the other extreme, decorated wedding cakes. All of this puts us in a different market place from any other operator. We believe that we are helping to reinvigorate local high streets and entice shoppers back.

"As a result of the trends that we are seeing, we have accelerated our programme of openings to include Bath and we are delighted with the response. I can reveal that in July, we shall be launching a celebration of Bastille Day in the Patisserie with cakes decorated especially for the occasion. This celebrates our continental heritage and is line with our approach of being that bit different!”

For more details of why Patisserie Valerie is so popular, go to www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk.