Beginning September 1, 2026, Salon Proust will debut Tea Time À La Française, a new afternoon tea experience by Executive Pastry Chef Olivier Lainé. Inspired by the French art of living, the experience reimagines the legendary Ritz Paris five o'clock tea, first introduced at the hotel's opening in 1898, through a contemporary progression of savory and sweet creations.
Starting September 1st, 2026 at Salon Proust
On September 1st, 2026, Olivier Lainé, the new head pastry chef at the Ritz Paris, will reveal his signature tea time inspired by the French art of living: a three-course experience in which the dialogue between savory and sweet shapes a refined composition poised between heritage and modernity.
Reuniting with the Legendary Ritz Paris Five O’Clock Tea
A gourmand array of savory, then sweet. This original idea pays homage to the Ritz Paris five o’clock tea, introduced upon the hotel’s opening in 1898 to enduring success. A veritable ritual, this interlude – then dubbed “the magic hour” – now returns in a contemporary reinterpretation blending tradition and creativity.
Three Savory Creations Set the Stage
A salmon tartelette piques the senses, its character elevated by a touch of horseradish and a yuzu-based condiment. There follows the freshness of a lobster roll on French toast that owes its richness to a delicate, slow-simmered lobster bisque. Then comes a sauce of seasonal roasted vegetables to be savored à la française, accompanied by a pillowy homemade focaccia.
Bridging Savory and Sweet
As a transition, a savory-sweet interlude subtly plays on trompe-l’œil with a revisited burrata delicately placed atop lemon shortbread, and a poached pear brunoise finished with a refined balsamic vinaigrette to accentuate its balance.
Le Temps des Douceurs
The tasting continues with sweet delights. A buckwheat baba with kiwi and fresh herbs nods to the Chef’s native Brittany, while a sunflower of infinitely light Earl Grey and cardamom mousse reveals a puff pastry heart filled with lemon bergamot cream. A viennoiserie made by baker chef Fabien Morelet reinterprets the croissant in a pastry version, topped with candied quince or seasonal fruit. An all-chocolate charlotte marks a powerful ending.
To let the pleasure linger, Olivier Lainé also dreamed up a creation to take away: a delicate dark chocolate shell filled with toasted country bread praline – one last gourmandise to savor later.
“I conceived this tea time as a dialogue between creativity and heritage. The first act opens the tasting with refinement, awakening the senses and preparing the palate for what follows. I love to play with contrasts, textures and illusion, to surprise and delight without ever betraying French tradition. Every detail celebrates a ritual that is at once timeless and reinvented. It’s an invitation to suspend time, and to rediscover the ‘magic hour’ that brings us together.”
Olivier Lainé, a Discreet Creative’s Journey
A native of Brittany, Olivier Lainé is an impassioned gourmand whose well-rounded journey led from working in a boutique pastry shop alongside Meilleur Ouvrier de France Laurent le Daniel in Rennes to a first experience with plated desserts at the starred restaurant L’Oasis in Mandelieu-La-Napoule (Provence).
After opening his own restaurant in his native region and becoming acquainted with the entire ecosystem that entrepreneurial adventure entails, he decided to move to Paris – “a personal dream, and a must for anyone who hopes to achieve excellence” – and join the brigade at a palace hotel.
Alongside Michaël Bartocetti, then the head pastry chef at Shangri-La Paris, he honed the exacting sourcing standards of a vegan pastry practice that was resolutely modern and free of excess. Driven by the pursuit of excellence and a desire to transmit knowledge, he naturally moved into the role of Instructor Chef at the École Ritz Escoffier in 2018. He became executive pastry chef at the Ritz Paris in January 2026.
Tea Time À La Française
125 Euros Per Person
Includes a glass of brut champagne or sparkling alcohol-free wine and a hot beverage.
Open Daily From 1 PM to 5 PM Starting September 1st, 2026
