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A taste of France Sablétine Fine Pastries has recently opened in uptown Waterloo Cooking was an important part iof Kate Sauer‘s childhood. And she‘s put the lessons she learned from her mother and grandmother to good use by buildâ€" ing a career around working in a kitchen. 14 » WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, February 6. 2008 It‘s culminated in her opening a pastry shop in uptown Waterloo, where shoppers can now enjoy a taste of France thanks to her elaboâ€" rate treats. _ "I have a thing for French pasâ€" tries," said Sauer, the owner of Sablétine Fine Pastries. s v““:[vAnd) I thought this would be really neat for K@{c!yfner-Wa(erloo." Located at 203 King St. S., Sabléâ€" tine opened its doors to the public in October 2007, and its handmade cookies, tarts and cakes are already developing a following. Sauer, who was born and raised in the area, has been preparing delicious meals and baked goods since she was a young girl. â€" "I‘ve Vai\«'rays‘ had a passion for cooking," she said. She eventually moved to Toronâ€" to to attend chef school at George Brown College. After that, she took a number of cooking jobs, includâ€" ing at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and an independent French pastry shop, and did some catering before deciding to open her own pastry shop. "I thought Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo was missing something like this, there‘s a lot of them in Toronto," ‘she said. â€"_"S$o J decided I would move back, and I opened up this store." O Nmough she has a strong cookâ€" ing background, Sauer said she By Jennirer OrMsTON Chronicle Staff _ Sablétine Fine Pastries, at 203 King St. S., ber 2007. prefers baking and making pasâ€" "I like the intricacy of decoratâ€" ing and creating cakes and cookâ€" ies," said the Waterloo resident. She rotates her Frenchâ€"style pastry selection with the seasons. In the winter, for instance, she sells toasted coconut tarts, apple tart tartins and lemonâ€"chocolate pasâ€" tries. _ As well, she has some "stanâ€" dards," including triple chocolate mousse, éclairs and lemon tarts. _ X]ight lunch is also available, BUSINESS 5., has been selling its selection of French pastries since it opened in Octoâ€" consisting of sandwiches and quiches, plus soup on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and small pizzas on Thursdays and Fridays. There‘s a dining area where people can eat and sip on coffee, tea or cappucciâ€" "Everything is made here fresh daily," said Sauer, who only uses whole ingredients. "I‘m basically using eggs, butter, cream, flour, sugar. "I‘m not using any mixes, $0 everything is made from scratch." With Valentine‘s Day around the corner, she will prepare some speâ€" cial treats, including cakes and handmade truffles â€" in dark chocolate and praline, among othâ€" Decorated heartâ€"shaped vanilla shortbread and chocolate sugar cookies will also be sold. She recâ€" ommends calling ahead, at 519â€" 568â€"7373, to have your cookies perâ€" sonalized. With so much on her menu, Sauer admits there‘s one thing she can‘t resist: her homemade chocoâ€" lateâ€"chip cookies. JENNIFER ORMSTON PHOTO "I really like cookies," she said, adding her triple chocolate mousse cake is another favourite. _ "It‘s like ez;ting a chocolate truf fle. It‘s nice and smooth and rich It‘s not spongy." _ Business has been steady since Sablétine opened, and Sauer credâ€" its that to word of mouth. â€" _ Customers tell her they‘ve been waiting a long time for this kind of shop to open. . "I‘ve heard a lot of people say one of the reasons they go to Toronto is they want to go to the pastry shops, they want to pick up good quality croissants and they want to have a little taste of France. _ "So that‘s,what I‘m hearing they‘re touting this place as, which is nice." o After looking around for a while, Sauer settled on the uptown Waterâ€" loo location because of all the development taking place in the core, especially the neighbouring Bauer Lofts, which are currently under construction. _ Her goal is to be firmly estabâ€" lished in the marketplace by the time the lofts open. â€" The shop‘s name, meanwhile, brings back special memories for Sauer of a trip she and her brother took a couple of years ago to a vilâ€" lage in France called Sablet. _ _"We named it after that time there, and added the ‘tine‘ to give it a little bit more finesse," she said. Sablétine is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parking is available behind the building. A selection of Sauer‘s elaborate customâ€"made wedding cakes can be viewed online at www.sableâ€" tine.com.