Paneton Bakery

General information

It's a story of love, french baking and the love of french baking!

Dominique Colombie learned the art of making pastry from his father, whose Patisserie Colombie was an institution in the village of Montesquieu-Volvestre in South-west France.

He later met his wife to be Celia Elder, in Paris. She too shared his love of fine French cuisine and together they dreamt of one day establishing a business in New Zealand inspired by their passion for French baking.

Returning to NZ in 1986 they set up La Tarterie in Khyber Pass in Newmarket, Auckland specialising in savoury tartes (quiches) and sweet tartes (lemon, almond etc.) Their hard work paid off, and with total customer focus and quality baking, their little cafe became so popular there was often a queue out the door! Their quiches and croissants became rightfully famous.

Today, Paneton enjoys success as NZ's leading French Bakery combining the best traditional French baking with the best New Zealand ingredients.

They have built on their range of traditional French bread and patisseries by now offering Ready to Rise (frozen) pastries and Ready to Bake (parbaked) breads for the convenience of customers anywhere in New Zealand.

Over the years, staff and premises may have changed, but the core of Dominique and Celia's bakery business has not. They still make the same quiches and tartes as well as baguettes and croissants.

Many of the customers from that original shop are still friends and customers today. Toddlers whose parents were regulars in the early days now come to Paneton with children of their own.

Along the way, traditional French baking has been influenced by the quality of fresh New Zealand products, creating the unique character that ensures Paneton's lasting appeal.

At Paneton, Dominique is always looking to the future, to improve systems and technology in baking but managing to keep the business simple and concentrating on core products using the best ingredients and simple recipes that taste great.