Jatee Kearsley brings fresh French pastries to Bedstuy

Jatee Kearsley introduces Brooklynites to the delectable world of French pastries through her bustling bakery, Je T’aime Pâtisserie.

On April 18, the East New York resident shared her origin story on the Eat righteously Instagram page. Her passion stems from a desire to introduce a wide variety of foods to her community, especially those facing financial constraints, so that everyone can enjoy a variety of culinary experiences.

Jatee offers its delectable desserts at affordable prices for community members, even serving those who use EBT food stamp cards. Customers can sink their teeth into a variety of specialty croissants, like the ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie croissant or the store’s decadent and rich seasonal cheesecakes.

“I want to make sure my people have access to great food, and if their budget is food stamps, why not?” Jatee told Jaeki Cho Eat righteously.

The French pastry chef fondly recalled a moment when she had the opportunity to introduce a neighbor to quiche for the first time. Quiche, a savory French pie filled with eggs, cheese and flavorful toppings, was a new culinary adventure for the community resident. Driven by generosity, Jatee offered the treat for free, just so he could experience its flavors and decide if it appealed to him.

“He said, ‘Yo, this is crazy good,’ and all his friends were like, ‘Yo, yo, yo, let me have one!’ There is no such thing as food for white people. They just have access to these different types of foods that black and brown people don’t have access to.”

Opening in Bedstuy in 2022, Je T’aime Pâtisserie was born from Jatee’s love for baking. She began cultivating her passion for the art at age 14, holding a bake sale for members of her community every week as a way to give back and hone her culinary skills. At the time, Jatee had no roadmap for launching her own culinary business as no one in her family or immediate circle had ventured into entrepreneurship before.

“No one has a business. Nobody graduated. I’m the first in my family to do everything.”

When Cho asked if she considered herself a “cycle breaker,” Jatee confidently claimed that she saw herself as a “cycle starter.”

‘ the pastry chef added during her Eat righteously interview: “You can’t break the curses of generations, but what you can do is be the one to start new generations. Don’t be a generational curse breaker. Be a generation starter.”

According to Brooklyn Mag, Jatee is a student at David Burke Kitchen’s culinary school learned myself in the art of laminating, the process of layering butter between dough and folding it repeatedly to create multiple thin layers. This technique results in a flaky, tender pastry with several layers when baked and is often used to give croissants their unique honeycomb structure.

“When I get obsessed with something, I feel like I need to know everything about it,” the celebrity chef told the outlet in 2023. “So I put it on YouTube, I read books and made so many croissants at home. And I have failed a lot.”

Jatee added, “I say there is a ‘Black Girl spin’ on my pastries because I am Black and I have taste. So I don’t make the average croissant.” The basic version provides the flaky, chewy, buttery balance with that perfect honeycomb thing on the inside.

If you are in Bedstuy, Brooklyn, go to Je T’aime Pâtisserie for a bite to eat at 471 Marcus Garvey Blvd, Brooklyn, NY 11216.

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