La Petite Fourchette is a modern French pâtisserie in the heart of Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter. Occupying a ground floor space in the timber-clad pavilions of Wynyard Central, the pâtisserie offers a wide range of sweet and savoury French delicacies to takeaway or eat in. All of the delicate pâtisserie and viennoiserie are made by the specialist team on site. 

Space is organised around a long, custom-made counter, with seating at one end and kitchen located at the other. A largely monochrome palette provides the perfect backdrop to showcase exquisite pastry work, which sits like little jewels on the timber counter. Details and furnishings provide a nod to traditional French shop design whilst still fitting in with the contemporary language of the main building.

The busy kitchen services not only LPF but also sister establishments La Fourchette and L’Assiette across town, so the tenancy’s extensive glazing initially posed a challenge to a brief that demanded the lions share of the floor space for cooking.

Whilst back of house functions are screened behind a partition wall, we decided to locate the oven and the cooking area at the front of the space to allow customers and passers-by to see the intricate pastry work being made. We saw this as an opportunity for LPF to tell their story and attract interest from the main street (the building is set back from Daldy Street proper). The kitchen activity also helps to activate the street frontage, adding to the vibrancy of this evolving area.      

Completed 2018.