Whipping Up Originality at Fendu

With baskets full of freshly baked bread loaves and baguettes lining the wall behind a display case overflowing with pastries and desserts, the simple charm of a good old-fashioned bakery is what initially draws you into Fendu Boulangerie at Manoa Marketplace.

With a second glance, you start to notice all of the bakery’s intricacies, such as the artful way in which French dark chocolate is combined with tropical fruit and sprinkled with coco nibs in a beautifully presented Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with Lilikoi Sauce ($5.50), for instance.

“For me, it’s the best chocolate in the world,” says chef and owner Niel Koep when describing the French chocolate he whips into a delicate mousse for the dessert. “It actually has sort of a fruity flavor and well-defined chocolate flavor — not too sweet.”

Such attention to detail goes into Fendu’s specialty breads as well, made from scratch every day. A hearty multigrain loaf, American Harvest ($5.50 regular, $3.25 petite), is loaded with wheat, rye, whole wheat, oatmeal, rye meal and bran, and bejeweled with cranberries and macadamia nuts. Koep put his own touch on a Baking Team USA (competitors in the Baking World Cup) bread formula to create this beautiful loaf, which celebrates the harvest of America.

While wholesome at heart, the bakery also has expanded its menu quite a bit since opening in 2009.

Gourmet pizzas and sandwiches now add to its creative flair with Cordon Blue Panini ($8.50) among the most popular choices. Black Forest ham, Swiss and Gouda cheeses, farm-fresh tomatoes, sauteed sweet onions and a hint of mayonnaise are grilled between perfectly crisp rustic buns, made especially for the bakery’s sandwiches.

In the end, you know that Fendu Boulangerie exemplifies all the simplicity you want from a bakery — natural ingredients nurtured into comforting baked goods — combined with an irresistible use of innovative flavors. All in all, it’s a taste you’ll come back for.

Fendu Boulangerie