A talented Bay Area baker with French influences is native Michelle Hernandez, who moved to Paris to pursue Le Grande Diplôme at Le Cordon Bleu. She stayed after graduating to train and work at Michelin-starred restaurants, before returning to San Francisco in 2011 to open Le Dix-Sept.

This botanically inspired pastry and confection company showcases the technical skills Hernandez learned while working in Paris in the form of unique pastries. Hernandez’s passion for art, design, flowers, herbs, teas, honey and cacao are put on display through her creations.

Hernandez remarks on a big difference she noticed between Parisian and American culture early on when she first started doing pop-ups in America, something she had tried to change person-by-person with her botanical baking.

Le Dix-Sept owner Michelle Hernandez.
Source: Ryan Sanchez

“A lot of people would say, “Oh, that’s too pretty to eat,” or “Maybe I’ll just have it one day of the week,” whereas coming from Paris, you have something every day. You enjoy a little bit of pleasure every day versus saving it all for Saturday.”

Each pastry at Le Dix-Sept has some kind of botanical story to it. This personal detail and an emphasis on high-quality ingredients – such as chocolate from Valrhona and Republica del Cacao, butter from Plugrà, eggs from Vital Farms and California pistachios – makes this patisserie a standout in the city. Hernandez identifies pistachios as one of the trendy ingredients for 2025, which she has used in such treats as a pistachio cake and pistachio croissant.

Le Dix-Sept’s cute little storefront in the Potrero Hill neighborhood gives its products the perfect display. Cannelés is the patisserie’s most talked-about treat, but other eye-catching items include the aforementioned pistachio cake and its almond tart with passion fruit. There are set items, but then the menu rotates almost every day. While customers appreciate the products they’re familiar with, Hernandez likes to change the menu for her own benefit.

“I might go to the farmers market, and there might be something really cool like blood oranges,” she says. “Having different things is not only inspirational to me, but I also can get people interested in other things they might not have tried before.”