“We used to define Canadian desserts with maple syrup, butter tarts and Nanaimo bars. Today it is richer: waves of immigrants from all over the world have contributed a lot to the Canadian food culture in ways that make us culturally better and more aware. We are very lucky in that way,” expresses Bruno Feldeisen, grateful for his adopted homeland and the diverse inspiration it brings to his creative repertoire; he commonly introduces an Asian flair to the overall presentation of his creations.

As a dear friend of the TEALEAVES family, we have had the pleasure of collaborating with Chef Bruno Feldeisen for over two decades. This year, we have worked together on a brand new custom tea blend for summer 2021. Inspired by summertime, teenage nostalgia, sweetness, airiness, and lightness, the latest addition to the TEALEAVES custom blends is Bubblegum Popsicle X Bruno Feldeisen.

Chef Bruno Feldeisen, award winning pastry chef, restaurateur, author, and judge on CBC’s The Great Canadian Baking Show, has had a dynamic trajectory that has led him to where he is today. He has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Gourmet Magazine, Bon Appetit Magazine and New York Magazine. Chef Feldeisen has multiple television appearances including Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Doughnut Showdown and Sweet Genius.

Growing up, he never imagined himself as a reputable figure in the culinary industry, but he owes it to his work ethic and his upbringing. Kicked out of school at the age of 15, he spent a part of his childhood bouncing from one foster home to another and at one point even living on the streets of France. As a teenager, Chef Feldeisen dreamed of becoming an airline pilot and traveling the globe. Little did he know that his worldwide exposure would happen through food. Looking back, it all started with him wandering the streets of his small hometown of Clermont-Ferrand: “One day I was wandering the streets and passed by a very old chocolate shop. They were looking for a chocolate apprentice. The sweet aromas of melting chocolate really got me that day. Looking back, it was the right decision,” states Chef Feldeisen.

At 16, he apprenticed at one of France’s most renowned chocolate shops: Les Palets d’Or in Moulin. After graduating with the highest score in the country, he was scooped up by world-famous Chef Alain Ducasse, with whom he worked alongside as a Chocolatier developing a line of truffles for the Hotel De Paris in Monaco. From France to the United States, Chef Feldeisen began his North American culinary adventure in the bustling city of New York at the Four Seasons New York where he spent three years working under the keen eye of Executive Chef Susan Weaver. While in New York, Chef Feldeisen was nominated for the coveted James Beard “Outstanding Pastry Award,” in both 1997 and 1998. It was in the heart of America’s busiest city where he truly feels his career had launched, he reminisces how “Chef Susan showed [him] that desserts have such a strong connection to where you grew up, and it comes from within.”

From New York, Chef Feldeisen traveled and worked throughout Toronto, Washington DC, and then decided to open up his own restaurant, Soléa, in San Francisco, continuing to honor his roots through his cooking.

Since then he has been based on the Canadian West Coast and he has worked as the Pastry Chef at the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, taught at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, crafted unforgettable desserts as the Executive Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Vancouver, and led the culinary team as Executive Chef at the Semiahmoo Resort in Washington State. Currently he spends much of his time in the kitchen, writing, as well as travelling back and forth from his home in Vancouver to Toronto to judge on CBC’s The Great Canadian Baking Show. Aside from his work in the culinary industry....

One of his latest accomplishments to add to his roster is the release of Baking with Bruno: A French Baker’s North American Love Story. His first cookbook documents his journey from France to the West Coast and the vibrancy of the dishes he learned alongside cooks from all walks of life. He has compiled a collection of culturally rich desserts that are not only inspiring to him, but are also accessible for home bakers as most ingredients are common pantry staples.

What is a TEALEAVES Icon? Throughout the years, we have had the pleasure of working with distinguished chefs and mixologists, masters of their respective fields, who are frequently making innovative and creative strides, breaking the boundaries, and reshaping the definition of culinary culture. To us, they are iconic and we want to share their genius with you.