With a chiseled 6-foot-5-inch frame and irresistible smile, most would assume that Charles-Laurent Lelièvre is an athlete or model rather than a pastry chef.
And the France native, who was a swimmer as a teen and had a modeling career in New York City in his early 20s, is well aware that people would be surprised at first glance.
“It’s like, ‘Don’t trust a skinny chef,’” Lelièvre says while chuckling. Then he confesses his secret.
“I do eat my own cakes but I have a rule: I eat a little piece but I never bring the rest of the cake home. I don’t have any here,” he says.
With eye-catching colors and attention to detail reminiscent of museum-worthy pieces of art, Lelièvre transforms sweet fantasies into delicious reality with his custom cake bakeshop BonjourCake AZ.
To use another common culinary expression, they are almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.
Since launching in 2022, happy customers have been unable to resist his elaborate confections composed of elements like delicate crêpe layers infused with rich coffee and mascarpone or soft, blush-pink sponge cake infused with rosé champagne and crowned with a velvety buttercream. A vegan peanut butter chocolate cake finished with creamy peanut butter frosting and topped with silky ganache and roasted peanuts will make even traditionalists forget it has no eggs or butter.
“I feel like it is an experience, a moment in time meant to be savored not just to be eaten,” he says.
With BonjourCake AZ, Lelièvre is experiencing the professional and personal life he thought was unattainable growing up in the farm town of Cambrai in northern France.
Lelièvre grew up baking cookies and other treats with his grandmother. Lelièvre proved his talent. His parents asked him to make desserts when they had company that they wanted to impress.
“I was known as the little chef in the family,” he says.
But in his parents’ eyes, baking was a hobby and not a viable career. With many bakeries in every village, being a pastry chef was common and not considered lucrative.
Believing a culinary profession was not in the cards, Lelièvre went to nursing school. But after graduating, he realized it was not a fit. He soon felt stifled in nearly every aspect of his life.
“I would work in nursing homes and see people dying,” recalls Lelièvre, who shares that his home life also wasn't great then. But, he managed to incorporate a bright spot amid dark times. “While at school, I was working at Disneyland Paris. This was my little escape.”
This led to Lelièvre getting a job at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. At his towering height, he was too tall to don a costume, so his job was welcoming guests to the French Pavilion.
While working in a retail store, Lelièvre was discovered by a modeling agency. At 21, he found himself striking a pose in front of cameras and walking runways in one of the hottest fashion capitals of the world.
Four years later, the industry started to lose its luster. He loved the opportunities and adventures modeling afforded him but knew it couldn’t last forever.
With money and freedom, he enrolled in the International Culinary Center of New York City. This enabled him to finally attain his dream of becoming a pastry chef and creating dazzling desserts.
“It was so exciting to find something I like to do. It's like being an artist. I can paint, sculpt, and design it,” Lelièvre says.
He opened BonjourCake in Miami in 2022. In 2024, he and his business moved to the Valley to be with his now-fiance.
When Lelièvre returns home, he now receives a warm welcome from his very proud parents.
Lelièvre and his creations have earned a powerful social media following. It’s not just his photogenic cakes, good looks, or the personality that draws people in. It’s all of the above.
“I’m goofy. I don’t like to take myself too seriously. I’m always making fun of myself,” he says. “I like to distract people from the sadness in the world.”
Lelièvre beams with gratitude when receiving messages of praise from impressed customers. He talks about a woman who told him that his cake was better than any of the ones she had at the many Michelin-star restaurants she had been to.
“I want to bring a smile to people and create memories. Maybe it’s because I worked at Disney, a place of memories and good experiences, and I always have that in my head,” Lelièvre says. “I want them to forget everything that’s going on in the world and have a good time.”
To use another common culinary expression, they are almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.
“It was so exciting to find something I like to do. It's like being an artist. I can paint, sculpt, and design it,” Lelièvre says.