Bourdon Patisserie, the cafe located inside the Zey Hotel (437-441 Main St., Greenport), is the latest North Fork creation of Hamptons-based restaurateur and reality TV star Zach Erdem (“Serving the Hamptons”), who also owns ZErdem (314 Main St.) across the street from the hotel. Fans of sweet — and savory! — will find an embarrassment of riches in the Bourdon Patisserie, from creative croissants to eggs benedict, Spanish-style cheesecake and more.
The bakery opened over Memorial Day weekend with little promotion or fanfare, and word of mouth quickly spread, according to Erdem, who was pleased with the response and happy to get his long-running idea off the ground.
“I’ve been trying to do this way too long,” says the Turkish-born Erdem, who has been looking for an opportunity to work with Bourdon’s pastry chef, Gürsel Aydin, for many years. “Finally, [Aydin] decided to come to America and we started cooking together.”
Born and raised in Turkey, chef Aydın has worked in countless hotels and restaurants, including the Çırağan Palace and the St. Regis in Istanbul, as well as Savarona Restaurant in New York City.
The bakery, open daily, is filled with natural light complementing its colorful and beautiful pastries. We tried several different treats, including chocolate profiteroles, brioche bread and croissants of the strawberry and pistachio varieties.
“I personally love sweets,” Erdem says. “I run six miles a day to try to keep myself in shape, but those croissants, I swear I could eat 20 of them! All those croissants, the cookies…you’ll be surprised at how good they are.”
If sweet isn’t your thing, there’s also a menu of omelets, eggs benny, avocado toast, and salads to try.
“[Aydin is] extremely talented,” says Erdem, who says that he strives to bring more Turkish talent to local business. Much of the staff at Erdem’s various restaurants and businesses, which also include 75 Main and Blu Mar in Southampton, is from Turkey.
Erdem’s plans for Bourdon Patisserie are ambitious — he hopes to open the cafe all over the nation in five years. But for now, you’ll have to go to Greenport for these sweet and savory treats.
“It’s important for me and I want people around the world to try the good stuff that we bring here,” he says.
Bourdon Patisserie is open daily. This summer, Erdem plans to reopen the Mediterranean-styled ZErdem, as well, and hopes to promote Greenport on his show “Serving the Hamptons.”
