Opera

The history of the Opéra cake begins in 1955, with Cyriaque Gavillon.

Cyriaque Gavillon's father was the head pastry chef at the Ritz.
Meanwhile, the son managed the Dalloyau house, one of the oldest in France.

Cyriaque was instrumental in modernizing the cakes of his time.
In other words, he revolutionized the codes of pastry-making: no more round, large, and extravagant cakes.

In short, he worked on his new creation (the Opéra cake) by layering different components, in order to create an exquisite dessert where all the flavors could be enjoyed at once.

Meanwhile, his wife (Andrée) named the creation in honor of the dancers from the Opéra Garnier in Paris, who frequented the shop.

At the time, the Opéra cake was seen as avant-garde, not only for its shape but also for the ingredients used.
Therefore, in summary: Gavillon reduces the sugar, removes the alcohol, and gives it a rectangular shape.

But five years later, Gaston Lenôtre created his own Opera cake and claimed its paternity.
Only in 1988 did the newspaper Le Monde decide to do justice and attribute the paternity of the Opéra to Dalloyau!