The menu of La Tarterie, which will change every four months, will feature around fifty original creations. (Courtesy of the owner)
It is both a personal and culinary adventure for Maroun Sfeir, a trained pastry chef and manager of Beit Trad. On Nov. 19, he inaugurated his restaurant in Achrafieh, La Tarterie.
"It all began in 2018-2019, when I was making tarts for the Beit Trad buffet. I created them Lebanese-style, drawing from my roots," Sfeir recounts. What started as a simple culinary pleasure transformed into an ambitious creative endeavor, even though the idea of turning it into a commercial concept was long sidelined. "Until 2022, I wasn't thinking of doing anything concrete. But the increasing requests from clients motivated me to take the plunge."
By March 2023, La Tarterie began to take shape. Sfeir returned to the kitchen to perfect his recipes. "I wanted to maintain the Beit Trad spirit while incorporating oriental flavors like meghlé or halawa."
With this same approach, he creates unique savory tarts: a filo pastry inspired by baklava, filled with Lebanese dishes like msakkhan djej with eggplants and onions, or chanklish. "I try to keep this oriental spirit, with dishes like rice with dried fruits and chestnuts, reinterpreted as a tart."
Sfeir, who has worked for prestigious establishments like Ladurée, Lenôtre and Fauchon, keeps a simple approach: "I love what is tasty and rich, authentic and indulgent."
The concept of La Tarterie is based on efficiency and freshness. "Everything is prepared in a central kitchen, then vacuum-sealed and sent to the shop. The tarts are finished in front of customers and baked on-site in five to 10 minutes," he explains. This model limits waste (to less than 5 percent) and facilitates logistics. With an average price of $15 and a shelf life of two days, the offer mainly targets take-out, which represents 90 percent of sales.
A Planned Future
The total investment for La Tarterie amounts to 425,000 dollars, including a central kitchen costing 120,000, a high-end shop in Achrafieh at 145,000 dollars and a food truck. The latter was successfully tested this summer in Byblos and Faraya and will be back in service in April.
"With Sarah Trad, my partner for seven years at Beit Trad, we wanted to stay true to our origins. Everything was born at Beit Trad, and La Tarterie is part of that continuity," emphasizes Sfeir, who is the main shareholder, along with eight other partners.
The menu of La Tarterie, which will change every four months, will feature about 50 original creations. In January, a breakfast formula will be introduced, with the addition of wine and beer in the shop. Tarts of different sizes are presented, with unique ideas such as samkeh harra, kharouf, or mohalabieh and chocolate haleweh tarts.
Sfeir already envisions the future: "My goal is to develop a concept that is easily replicable and inexpensive to invest in." Ultimately, he would like to see his tarterie franchised abroad.