SAINT-JEAN

Finding inspiration

Saint-Jean has its foundations in owner Yann-Pierre Jean’s love of vegan food. Before becoming a professional baker, he would often try plant-based fare on his travels around the city of Amsterdam, but the baked goods were always a let down. They lacked the appealing flavour and texture of other cakes and were often disappointing to eat. Frustrated but inspired, Yann-Pierre started to experiment with his own vegan recipes. Working from home while maintaining his job in fashion, he specialised in a kind of flat, round cake known as a galette, slowly perfecting a version which looked, felt and tasted great but didn’t use any animal-based ingredients.

From Rustic Pastry to Saint-Jean

Before long, Yann-Pierre’s online business, Rustic Pastry, had become well-known in the city, and he was able to leave his day job to focus on his new plant-based endeavour. With all efforts directed towards crafting delicious cakes and pastries, Rustic Pastry soon outgrew its home kitchen, and it was time to set up a physical location within the city. Yann-Pierre’s vegan pastry shop was established in October 2021 in the beautiful Jordaan district of Amsterdam’s busy city centre. Along with its ideal location, Yann-Pierre gave his vegan cafe a new name – Saint-Jean, after his grandmother’s shop in Guadeloupe, where he was born.

A unique bakery

Yann-Pierre’s French-Caribbean roots have a clear influence on his baking, and are part of what makes Saint-Jean so unique. He offers many brioche options, often fused with other cooking traditions, for example in the Panettone-style Holiday Brioche and the Chocolate & Hazelnut Babka Brioche. The most distinctive of all Saint-Jean’s baked goods, however, is the Cruffin. A sweet, buttery blend of a croissant and a muffin, this delicious treat is pumped with gooey, homemade fillings such as pistachio paste or pumpkin jam and vanilla custard. Alongside these, customers can also enjoy more traditional cakes, like the layered Chocolate & Raspberry Naked Cake, and a selection of drinks, from specialty coffee to chai, matcha and loose leaf teas.

A savoury alternative

Despite being open for just a few short years, Saint-Jean has already expanded to a second location. Situated just across the road from the bakery, Saint-Jean Deli serves savoury options like sandwiches and focaccia. It also stocks natural wines and a range of home goods. These include the Pistachio Paste that goes into some of the bakery’s pastries, a collection of high-quality ceramics and even branded T-shirts.

A carefully curated experience

Although the pastry shop is quite small, with only a few seats for customers, Yann-Pierre is keen to create a welcoming atmosphere. He has done so via the organic modern style used on Saint-Jean’s interior and the ambient music that fills the contemporary space. While the tunes are curated by Amsterdam-based DJ Elisa Batti, the artwork is provided by Studio Aware, whose timeless pieces use authentic, raw materials, giving the cafe a powerfully naturalistic character.

Letting the food do the talking

Yann-Pierre’s bakery and deli are both run on 100% vegan principles. His creations are all unashamedly animal-free, but he prefers not to speak at length about this, rather allowing the food to do the talking. If people enjoy what he makes, then his mission has been achieved. And this is clearly happening at Saint-Jean as the combination of carefully constructed decor, atmospheric music, expertly roasted coffee and exquisitely prepared vegan cakes and pastries make it a must for anyone in Amsterdam looking to titillate their taste buds.