Meet the Khawand Family of Fleur de Sel

Resident Feature by Stacey McEvoy | Photos by Christine Loy Photography

If you haven’t been to France for an authentic croissant, don’t feel like you’re missing out. Fleur de Sel Patisserie and Bistro, Chatham’s most recent Main Street addition, has butter, almond, chocolate, zaa’tar and cheese croissants that will transport you to a bistro table with a lavender bouquet in a French café before the first bite melts in your mouth. And, don’t stop at croissants! Delicate macarons in flavors such as chocolate, raspberry, pistachio, rose and lavender are divine. Lemon meringue tarts are to die for.

“We do everything very French,” says Fleur de Sel owner Patricia Etel Khawand. She’s not kidding. There’s an education to be gained from reading the menu and learning what these artful and delicious creations are. Take the St. Honoré, named after the patron saint of pastry chefs. It’s an airy cream puff dipped in caramelized sugar. The Paris Brest, named for a long-distance race between Paris and the city of Brest, is made of choux pastry or pâte à choux (not to be confused with puff pastry!) which is a light pastry dough that contains only butter, water, flour and eggs—and is filled with a decadent hazelnut cream. Mille-feuille, similar to an Italian Napoleon pastry, is a masterpiece of flaky, buttery pastry sheets layered with vanilla pastry cream. Occasionally, they also come with passionfruit, black currant or caramel. And stayed tuned—the savory side of Fleur de Sel’s menu, a specialty of Patricia’s, is slated to begin soon.

Fleur de sel is French for flower of salt. “It is a very refined finishing salt harvested along the coast of France , mainly but not exclusively in the Brittany region, and is used for sweet and savory,” says Patricia, noting that she has had the name of her business chosen for a very long time—the email fleurde-sel@hotmail.com, which Patricia uses for the business, has actually been her personal email for 20 years.

Patricia, her husband Joe Khawand, a director in the treasury department at Credit Suisse, and their daughters Alexandra, 9, a Lafayette Avenue School 4th grader, and Michelle, 7, a Washington Avenue 2nd grader, moved to Chatham five years ago from Port Imperial in Hudson County where they lived for four years. The couple lived in downtown Manhattan prior to that. When Alexandra was ready for school, they began their search for a community to call home with a good school system and where Patricia could see herself opening a business. Chatham won them over.

“We love everything about Chatham—the people, the schools, the businesses, the town,” says Patricia, noting the kindnesses extended to them, and especially for the community’s support of Fleur de Sel which took over the space at 265 Main Street where Helen’s Dressmaking Shop had been for decades. The store was gutted to make room for new walls, flooring and an HVAC system. The bathroom was renovated, a side door was installed for deliveries and a commercial kitchen was built.

“Fleur de Sel started with catering at Washington Avenue School,” says Patricia, explaining that she catered a teachers’ appreciation lunch when she served on the teachers’ appreciation committee. “Everyone loved the food, and families started placing orders for their parties.” She took it as a sign, and Fleur de Sel started to take shape.

Every square inch of the project was a labor of love. Patricia carefully selected the lighting, tiling, flooring, tables, chairs and wooden patisserie sign that hangs above the Illy coffee machine that captured the rustic modern look she envisioned. The cappuccino-colored walls and a wrought iron lamp post in the front corner of the shop are decidedly French. Joe, right by her side throughout the project, did the tiling and built the benches—and after much experimentation, Patricia achieved the perfect look and color for the benches by mixing paint and varnish. “You know it when you see it,” says Patricia with a laugh.

Patricia is quick to note that her landlord is wonderful, local architect Frank Truilo who designed the space is incredible as well as the whole team at Chatham and Madison boroughs, in particular Chatham Borough Engineer Vince De Nave, who was so helpful and patient during the process.

The renovation started in September 2019 and Fleur de Sel was ready for its grand opening by the middle of March 2020—one day before the pandemic shut everything down. “It was a scary time,” she says. As spring arrived, Patricia put on a brave face and took the bold step of opening Fleur de Sel in the middle of the pandemic on May 1, and was greeted by grateful and happy customers.

“It was a very warm welcome for us,” says Patricia, noting that her team is composed mainly of Chatham residents.

Patricia has a rich cultural background stemming from her Lebanese, French and Brazilian heritage. While studying in France for her MBA in International Hospitality Management at ESSEC/Cornell University, she met her husband Joe, also from Lebanon, who was working there. After Joe moved to New York, Patricia joined him, and the couple married in 2008.

A food and beverage specialist, Patricia held several positions in food and beverage and finance at hotels around the world including an InterContinental in Lebanon, Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, The Ritz-Carlton in Bahrain, Sofitel Chicago and W New York in Union Square. She taught hospitality classes at a university in Lebanon for five years.

In her last position before opening Fleur de Sel, Patricia worked for four years at Sopexa, an international communication and marketing agency specializing in food, beverage and lifestyle, where she was part of a team that organized wine tastings for the U.S. trade on behalf of the Loire Valley wine region in France. Passionate about wine, Patricia earned an advanced wine certificate from the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) in Manhattan and is half way through her WSET diploma which she plans to complete in the future. While working at Sopexa, she also had owned a side business called Sweet, Still and Bubbly, a wine education and wine private events business.

Happy to be working now in the town where she lives, Patricia says she enjoys being close to home for her daughters. “They’re happy. They see this business being built. At the end of the day, this is for them,” she says. Will they follow in their mother’s footsteps? Perhaps. “Alex knows the difference between glacage and ganache. She also has a very refined palate—she can tell complex flavors she tastes. And Michelle— she loves to taste all of our creations and is a great marketer for Fleur de Sel,” says Patricia. For now, though, the girls are involved in activities such as gymnastics and swimming, and chorus classes at school. Alex is also a Girl Scout.

Reflecting on the journey of Fleur de Sel thus far, Patricia says, “My next-door neighbor and best friend Ann-Marie Ferguson, neighbors, close friends in Chatham and Madison, the business community—everyone has been so encouraging. I’ve been very touched by the emails and texts of support. I’ve been very blessed.”

Do you know a neighbor who has a story to share? Nominate your neighbor to be featured in one of our upcoming issues! Contact us at smcevoy@bestversionmedia.com.

We would like to thank Salerno Duane Inc. in Summit for bringing you this month’s cover story.