Meet

Juliette Petit

Chef, local F&B legend, and owner of the Baking Academy and the Parisian-inspired Le Jardin, Juliette Petit dishes on all her entrepreneurial secrets in this no holds barred interview

Velvet-voiced, formidable, and every bit as delightful as the desserts she churns out every day, Juliette Petit is the immigrant parent’s dream.

From humble beginnings in Laventille, where her family owned a furniture store, Petit is now the founder of Le Jardin, one of Trinidad’s most long-standing, most revered patisseries.

And the iconic Moon Over Bourbon Street that spurred so many memorable nights back in the day? Hers too.

It’s no surprise then that hard work comes naturally to Petit.

But the born entrepreneur continues to peddle only the best traits of her kind – humility, generosity, and hard work.

Too long? Here’s the CliffNotes version you need to read:

1. Petit is a first generation Trinidadian. Both her parents are originally from Martinique
2. Her mother use to traveled by boat to Trinidad with a coal pot in one hand to press people’s hair and sell items on the wharf
3. Le Jardin the only food outlet in West Mall to have space outside of the Food court. According to Petit, this is because “No one says no to Madame Petit (i.e. her mother)”.
4. Petit is professionally trained as a chef and worked for the Hilton in Paris prior to coming back to Trinidad
5. Last year, she opened the Baking Academy – a training school for chefs and amateur gourmands – and Trinidad’s sole independent culinary academy
6. She founded the Baking Academy at 59, with two partners she’s never met. They collaborated online through the entire process
7. Le Jardin has been at West Mall in the same spot they first opened 37 years ago
8. Success to her is not monetary. “Your customer defines your success. What you think is success, is not what they think is successful,” she said