Nearly three years to the day after winning Food Network’s “Bake You Rich” with her not-so-typical macarons, Charlette Bell is in permitting to open a permanent storefront for her Lady Belle Macarons pâtisserie in Stone Mountain.
Lady Belle Macarons has been operating out of nearby Apple Butter since 2016, Bell told What Now Atlanta Thursday in a telephone interview. “At the pace of things,” Lady Belle will open at the beginning of 2023, at 1227 Rockbridge Rd SW.
The space will “feel like you’ve walked into an actual French pâtisserie,” the restaurateur said. But patrons won’t find run-of-the-mill French macarons at Lady Belle. Instead, Bell offers bold and unusual flavors that bridge the traditional French pastry with flavors of the south — think banana pudding, red velvet. After all, the Lady Belle slogan is “French Flair, Southern Flavor.”
“You don’t need a passport to experience macarons,” Bell said. “You don’t have to travel any further than Stone Mountian.” In addition to making macarons accessible, Bell said another goal of her growing brand is to “cross cultures” by incorporating “soul food and “Sunday diner table” into Lady Belle’s offerings. “We’re bridging cultures,” Bell said.
Bell, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Atlanta, wanted to take making macarons to the next level. At the school, macarons were only used as garnishes, she said.
“Macarons are such a challenge and I was up for a challenge. I made learning how to make macarons therapeutic.” On weekends, Bell would virtually train with Lynne Burns, a British, self-taught macaronier. “On Sundays, I would call her, and we would have a session,” Bell said. “She took me through the paces. I knew I wanted my macarons to be elevated, yet with the flavors of the south.”
Bell’s late grandmother, Elma Jones, was her influence on baking and is a key element of the Lady Belle logo. “My grandmother passed away the same year I entered the Food Network competition,” Bell said. “She was a hat lady which is where the logo comes from.”
While the design of Lady Bell is still in progress, one thing is concrete: Bell will incorporate her grandmother’s hats in the decor. “She maintained her hats very well and I have 20 or more.”
