If you don’t know the name Christophe Rull yet, you will soon. Born and raised in Marseille in southern France, Rull started his apprenticeship at age 15 before five years of culinary school where he studied cooking and pastry. He bounced from Michelin-starred kitchens to luxury hotels to the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (ENSP), the prestigious pastry school that Alain Ducasse (record holder for most awarded Michelin stars on the planet) founded in 1999.
After France, Rull opened Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and worked at MGM Grand. He won season 7 of the Food Network’s Halloween Wars, followed by another win on Holiday Wars. He appeared on Bake Squad and then topped it all off with the title of U.S. Chocolate Master in 2021 and a fifth-place finish in the 2022 World Chocolate Masters.
So, all of this is to say, the guy can bake. And he’s about to open his first shop of his own. Christophe Rull Patisserie opens later this month in San Marcos.
Rull can bake, sure. But he’s smart, too—he knows San Diego is the place to be for the best food and quality of life. After six years in Las Vegas, he accepted the role of executive pastry chef at the AAA Five Diamond Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Carlsbad from 2016 to 2021. “I fell in love with this area,” he says. But after he quit to pursue his dream of competing at the world championship, he came back to the US jobless and unsure of what to do next.
“It’s the same high as athletes—you go to the Olympic Games, and you’re sacrificing two years of your life to prepare for that big event, and once the event is done, then you’re done,” he laughs. So he asked himself “What am I doing now?” He ended up at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles as the executive pastry chef for a new concept, which allowed him hands-on decision making from development all the way to opening. Basically, it was a dress rehearsal for launching his own place.
Rull decided on San Marcos for his first patisserie for a few reasons. One, he loves North County’s chill vibe. Two, he sees all the development potential over the next few years. Getting in now will pay off later, he’s betting. The North City suite is on the small side—around 1,200-square-feet total, with around one-third as kitchen space and the remainder front of house. But he doesn’t need a ton of space to realize his ethos of “simplicity well done.”
“I like to stay really fundamental, and to the classics, such as a good butter croissant or almond croissant,” he explains. His menu will include his famous cinnamon roll and sourdough bread (made from a 14-year-old starter from the Hotel Bel-Air), plus around a half dozen different breakfast pastries, croissants, French macarons, danishes, eclairs, chia seed pudding, cookies, and some sandwiches like a classic French ham and cheese and chicken pesto, all made with imported French butter and flour.
He’ll offer around 10 eclairs at a time, ranging from classic vanilla and lemon meringue to passion fruit mango, salted caramel, tiramisu, and more. Coffee service will be simple, featuring Lavazza drip coffee and traditional espresso.
It’s a family-run business, with his wife Wilma working side-by-side with him. They both decided to leave the luxury hotel world to take a chance on the dream, something that Rull says takes risk and sacrifice. “[This] is where I wanted to be,” he says.
Christophe Rull Patisserie opens late August or early September at 251 North City Drive, Suite 121 in San Marcos.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
The (Brief) Return of Small Bar!
For one-night only, everyone who has yearned for the return of University Heights’ Small Bar will get their wish. Better still, the pop-up is going to feature its famous fried chicken as orders of either half or full birds, and it’s all going down at Grand Ole BBQ in North Park on Monday, August 25 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. I strongly suggest arriving beforehand, because my inner psychic is predicting a ridiculously fast sellout.
PARTNER CONTENT
Todo Pa’ La Cruda
Beth’s Bites
- Despite some premature reports in other outlets, Elizabeth Ruiz says her restaurant Todo Pa’ La Cruda is not opening a third location in Pacific Beach. The existing two locations on Imperial Avenue and Logan Avenue are still up and running, and while she’s not currently looking hard for a third location, you never know when the perfect spot will present itself. (It’s just not in PB, for now.)
- It always tickles me just a bit when a company with a specific location in its name moves outside of that location. (See: North Park Beer Company in Bankers Hill, for one.) Coronado Coffee Company is expanding off the island (that’s not technically an island) and opening a second location in Point Loma, bringing its specialty coffees, matchas, teas, steamers, and other goodies across the water.
- If pop-ups defined the first half of 2025, visiting chef collaborations might be what’s happening the second half. Next up is chef Omar Hernandez from Ensenada’s Celida Cafe heading to Wildflour in Liberty Station, where he’ll work with Phillip Esteban on their first brunch takeover on Sunday, August 10. Expect some Baja-inspired brunch plates like crispy lamb with sunny side eggs, passion fruit French toast, and Mexican eggs benedict with habanero hollandaise. Light on calories, it will not be.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
