Manchester's tiny bakery rated England's best that has people queuing down the street for its pastries

There’s arguably nothing better than the smell of freshly baked pastries wafting through the air on a Sunday morning. And if you live in the leafy suburb of Didsbury, you’re definitely spoilt for choice when it comes to bakeries and cafés, where you can grab a sweet treat.

However, one of the village’s most recent additions is so popular with residents that queues can often be seen down the street, as locals look to bag themselves a much sought-after artisan loaf or croissant. The bakery in question is none other than La Chouquette on Wilmslow Road, which emerged amid lockdown in December 2020.

Launched by professional bakers Mairead Deignan and Florent Verove, La Chouquette, which translates as ‘little bits of (choux) pastry” - the dough used to make these pastry puffs is the same used to make eclairs and profiteroles - has, in a short space of time, become an integral part of the village’s vibrant café scene.

“Both myself and Florent always had the passion and dream of opening our own bakery, it was an ambition of ours since we got together seven years ago,” says Mairead after a busy day at the bakery. “Also as Florent is a baker and I am a pastry chef it’s a great combination of skills to open our own bakery.

“We don’t live far from Didsbury, we are quite familiar with the village, we love the atmosphere and the people and we thought that it was missing an artisan bakery where you could buy freshly baked bread and pastries every day.”

Specialising in sourdough loaves, as well as traditional French pastries such as eclairs and macarons, everything is made within the bakery, using only the very best ingredients. Whether it’s a perfectly flaky almond croissant - a best seller according to Mairead - a baguette or a