If you happen to make your way to San Francisco, stroll over to 18th Street where you will find a very magical French patisserie that specializes in botanical pastry. KUAM News chatted with the owner of Le Dix Sept Botanical Pastry and Confections and learns of her connection to Guam.

The business is in the Mission District. The patisserie has always been a dream of owner and pastry chef Michelle Hernandez, a Bay Area native with ties to the island. "My grandfather moved to Guam from the Philippines in 1948 and my grandmother, my mom and her siblings moved there shortly thereafter. So my mother grew up in Guam and went to school in Tumon - she went to grade school there and went to JFK and they settled in Tamuning.

"So they lived there until my grandparents passed. We still have family there, as well," she explained.

Although Hernandez has never been to Guam, she eagerly awaits the moment she along with her mom can come and experience what the 671 has to offer.

"We always wanted to go when we were little it was just a long journey, but I know how beautiful it is and I definitely want to go visit," she said.

Le Dix Sept, which means '17' in French, is an auspicious number for her and holds special meaning. "Both my parents were born on the 17th of their months; I lived, worked, and studied cuisine and pastry in France. When I lived there, I was in the 17th District in Paris," she remembered.

She has always wanted to be a chef since she was 5 years old, recalling the days of playing with her Easy-Bake Oven. "I ended up doing traditional school, going to University of California at Berkeley, but I always had this dream of going to France learning and studying," she said.

Hernandez set her mind to it, saving up to make that dream come true. She moved to Paris to pursue Le Grande Diplôme at Le Cordon Bleu. She stayed in the city of lights after graduating to train and work at Michelin-starred restaurants.

Opened in October of 2020, you can't miss the pastry shop. It's a quaint pink house adorned with lots of flora and fauna with definitely a welcoming environment that's offering an array of pastries that serve as a canvas for her edible art, incorporates her love of flowers, herbs, teas, and honey .

Her pastries, which are truly worthy of an Instagram photo are bright, bold, and beautiful. So along with botanicals, where else does she draw inspiration?

"A lot of it also through fashion. my previous career was in the fashion industry. So I've always been inspired by different designers including Rodarte, Marquessa, which have a lot of big floral prints," Hernandez said.

From brioche, love knots to almond tarts, she said, "Our specialties include specialty custom cakes, which are really bright and happy cakes, very custom often decorated with edible flowers, and chocolate sculptures. We also specialize in a French pastry called canneles, as well as a specialty confection which is a honey based confection called nougat," he said.

But prior to the brick and mortar, Hernandez actually started Le Dix Sept in 2011. "It's taken some time to build up kind of the community, clientele, to get there but we're so happy that we were able to do it. Everyone was wondering why kind of started during the pandemic, but it's not that we started in the pandemic we had been on a road for such a long time and got the lease in 2019 and of course could not have predicted everything that came but it's been very well-received when we opened," she said.

Le Dix Sept continues to thrive having been featured in the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Magazine, Cherry Bombe Magazine, Eater and more. And along with word of mouth from customers, she is also grateful for the support she's received from the Guam community. "We are very lucky to be next to the only Guamanian restaurant in California - Prubechu, they are great friends of ours. We send clients back and forth, it's really one of my favorite restaurants," she said.

"We are lucky to be in this community and there's other Chamorro people who have their businesses around our area which is kind of a nice little community and feels like a bit of home."

In the meantime, Hernandez looks forward to the day she is finally able to step foot on Guam. "I've seen all the pictures and videos when my parents facetime when they are there, because in the past they have lived there for many months out of the year. And it's just a beautiful paradise that I cannot wait to go to and really just take a look at all the flowers and fruits just the bounty and the nature that's there. I know there is going to be a ton of inspiration," she said.

Follow Hernandez and the patisserie on Instagram at @ledixsept, but be prepared to have definite sweet tooth after scrolling the page! You can also visit their website at http://www.ledixsept.com and order some of their delectable nougat.