(This article originally appeared in the August 2025 issue of the South Baltimore Peninsula Post.)
by Robert Hardy
Chef Ahlem Kechrid stands in her tiny kitchen at the back of the La Cosette French Artisan Pastry Shop on a warm spring morning on E. Fort Avenue. A small woman with big energy and a strong sense of creative purpose, the chef is working with an array of pastries on the neatly arranged surface in front of her. She is surrounded by packed shelves of colorful ingredients in glass jars, bins, and boxes: flours, sugars, nuts, berries, seasonings, and spices.
“I am happy here,” she says with a contented smile and a distinctive French accent. “I wake up at 4am each day, and I arrive by 5am. This is my space. A small one, but I love it,” she says.
La Cosette occupies the first floor of a rowhouse on the corner of E. Fort and Boyle Street, painted white with bright blue trim and awnings. It’s the same spot that housed the popular Baba’s Mediterranean Kitchen for nearly 15 years. The hand-chalked sign on the street out front reads “Bonjour, Beautiful People.” Walking in the front door casts visitors into the atmosphere of a traditional French patisserie, with Parisian bal musette playing in the background. Paintings by local artists decorate the walls.
The pungent aroma of freshly brewing Turkish coffee fills the air, but it is the spacious glass cases in the front of the shop that draw the eye, displaying a rich, colorful, and textural array of the delights that are La Cosette’s specialties.
Behind the counter, Myriam is the friendly face of the front of the house. She can describe each one of the chef’s creations and detail the ingredients: freshly baked cookies (orange, chocolate cherry, matcha); individual-size chocolate and hazelnut “good morning” cakes and “cakes of the chef”; elegant pistachio fondant and ferrero rocher (chocolate hazelnut); buttery, flaky croissants with rich, creamy fillings of chocolate, almond, pistachio, and lemon; and magnificent fruit tarts, large and small: raspberry, blueberry, hazelnut, raspberry pistachio, and lemon.
If one’s sweet tooth is overwhelmed, there is a rack of savory spinach and cheese quiches, smoked salmon sandwiches, ham and cheese croissant sandwiches, and panini, all made fresh in-house, as well as fresh lemonade and fruit juices, espresso and cappuccino, and the specialty Turkish coffee.
The Kechrid family, who own and operate La Cosette, came to Maryland from Tunisia in 2005. Ahlem’s husband, Faouzi, had retired from his profession as a veterinarian, and their sons, Rafik and Karim, attended the University of Maryland. Rafik is president of Next Level Soccer, a Maryland-based nonprofit youth soccer organization. He is often in the shop, and everyone in the family pitches in to help manage the business.
When Ahlem retired from her profession teaching French and biology in Tunisia, she began studying to fulfill her dream of becoming a pâtissier. She took baking courses and attended workshops in France and Tunisia, eventually starting a catering business, specializing in classic French techniques, but with a decidedly Tunisian influence.
“Savory and sweet,” she says, describing the Tunisian culinary aesthetic. “Fruits and nuts are very important. Especially nuts: almond, hazelnut, pistachio. I can’t work without nuts.”
The family encouraged Ahlem to come to Baltimore to practice her craft, in part because Rafik “couldn’t get a fruit tart as good as hers” anywhere nearby. “Tunisia is a former French colony with a strong French culture and a long history of French baking,” Rafik notes. “[Ahlem] has always loved baking and French cuisine, and this was her dream, so regardless, she was going to do it.”
They happened to come across the building that housed Baba’s, which was available for long-term lease, and they quickly negotiated a deal for the property. The Kechrids opened La Cosette in November 2023.
Back in the kitchen, racks of metal pastry molds of various sizes and shapes hang from the wall behind the chef. She reaches up for a small, round form and uses it to cut shapes from the buttery dough rolled out before her: a pâte sucrée crust. One morning, it’s almond tarts, pecan tarts, and cookies, smelling delightful coming out of the oven. This morning, it’s small fruit tarts, topped with bright, fresh raspberries, blueberries, and sliced mango.
“For the crusts, flour, sugar, butter,” Chef Ahlem says, then emphasizes with a smile, “Oh yes, don’t forget the butter!” She uses gluten-free flour, also wheat flour. “Almond flour is best,” she whispers, “but many people have allergies, so no almond flour.”
Among the baking sheets, mixing bowls, whisks, and spoons, the chef arranges her ingredients. She squeezes a creamy custard filling from a bulging piping bag, filling the tiny crusts and smoothing the surfaces with a spoon, then she tops them with the colorful fresh fruit. Next, she softly brushes a light mixture of sugar and water on to each delicate tart, adding a shiny glaze.
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, chef prepares the tart crusts, which need to be ready to go on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings when the shop is open. The fillings are made on the day of sale. She follows a similar schedule for her buttery croissants, and she also includes quiches and other regular savories in the rotation. “And always special orders,” she notes: “Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day. Lots of family-size tarts, special cakes of the chef, and lots and lots of cookies.”
The fresh Turkish coffee that the chef prepares daily is a special manifestation of the Tunisian influence at La Cosette. “We do a traditional presentation, with the traditional metal pot, the cezve, and small cups,” Rafik says as the aroma wafts through the shop. “It’s not for on the go, but for sitting down and relaxing, taking time to enjoy the aesthetics of it. Chef adds orange water and cardamom, and it’s brewed in the pot and served in espresso quantities. For some, it’s an acquired taste. It’s strong, but it’s quite delicious and goes very well with chef’s pastries.”
As we sip the dark, rich coffee at a sunny table in the front of the shop, Myriam brings over an ornate silver tray of golden, sugar-dusted star-shaped cookies, each adorned with a big glistening almond in the center. “Chef asks if you would like to try some of these new cookies she’s baking.”
La Cosette is open Thursday and Friday 8:30am to 5pm, Saturday 8:30am to 4pm, and Sunday 8:30am to 2pm. For special orders, visit lacosettepastryshop.com.
The Peninsula Post is published by the South Baltimore United, Inc., 501c3 nonprofit.
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