Isabelle Elwart is a young and talented baker. Her specialty is macarons.
“When I was younger, probably about 10 or 11, my grandma had invited me over and said we’re going to try and make macarons. I had never even heard of them, all I knew was they took a really long time, and I didn’t want to do it,” recalls Elwart.
While she was correct, the French cookies are very difficult to make and take a lot of patience, she learned to love making them with her grandmother. It was her love of this sweet meringue cookie, which is crisp on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside, that landed her a job at Le Detroit Macaron.
“I was a junior in high school. A friend of mine shared an article that a macaron shop was opening up just a couple of streets down from me,” says Elwart.
She really wanted to work at the new store so she reached out to the owner, Patty Corkery. When the shop opened in September of 2017, Isabelle was one of the first employees. Elwart confessed to Corkery that her goal was to eventually open up her own shop. Little did she know the opportunity would come sooner rather than later.
“About a year in I kind of got a phone call that changed my life forever,” says Elwart. “She [Corkery] had reached out and said that she had decided to sell the business.”
Corkery asked Elwart if she would like to buy it, and after talking with her parents, Elwart and Corkery finalized the deal. Elwart became the owner of Le Detroit Macaron at age 18, after about a year of working there. Now over 4 years later, the business is still going strong.
“It was definitely a surreal experience because most of my friends were going off to college and I was trying to figure out how to run a business,” explains Elwart.
Fortunately, she surrounded herself with good business-minded people who could help and mentor her. Plus, Corkery was always just a call away.
“This is not a solo job,” Elwart says. “I have a whole team behind me who are helping me run this thing.”
They sell classic flavors like pistachio and lemon zest, but they have some more wild flavors as well.
“It’s fun to just kind of mess around with different ingredients and see if it works,” says Elwart.
Some of the more unique flavors include Pop Rocks, Cosmic Brownie, Oreo Cheesecake, Fruity Pebbles, and Berry Chantilly. She and her team are constantly coming up with new flavors, and will often make up custom flavors for the many events they cater.
“If you’ve never had a macaron we’d love to be your first experience. We’ve got lots of different options of flavors so we hope that you’ll be able to find something that you love,” says Elwart.
Le Detroit Macaron is located at 2756 Evaline St, Hamtramck, MI 48212.