David Seba, owner of Quelque Chose, poses in front of the shop’s storefront. Photo courtesy of Quelque Chose.

From the start, Quelque Chose was a marriage between the skills of husband David Seba and wife Julia Dahdah. With Julia having trained as a pastry chef in France, said David, along with his grasp of the business side of things, the two decided to combine their talents and open a shop.

“When we moved to Ottawa, we wanted to start something new, something that’s ours,” said David. “So we thought, ‘Why don’t we start a pastry shop?'”

Julia Dahdah, owner of Quelque Chose, leads a workshop in one of the store locations. Photo courtesy of Quelque Chose.

While Julia learned to become a pastry chef in France, explained David, she studied how to make macarons with globally renowned French pastry chef Pierre Hermé. He is, as David puts it, “like the boss of macarons in France.” Pierre is widely considered to be one of the foremost experts on macarons, having raised the colourful confection’s profile to one of the most sought-after French desserts worldwide.

Reenacting the conversation between him and his wife, he said, “You know how to make macarons, I know how to do all the numbers and to put a business together.”

Although David’s background is in mechanical engineering, he said he wanted to take on this new challenge. “I personally love the food industry,” said David.

The couple started by finding a workspace and courting business, said David, particularly for weddings. “Macarons are very popular in weddings,” he said. “You can do wedding favours. You can do macaron towers instead of a regular wedding cake.”

David said their business grew beyond weddings when catering companies began contacting Quelque Chose to provide desserts for events. “That actually increased a lot of the volume [of macarons],” said David. “That’s when we decided that it was time to have our own place.”

Sisters and pastry chefs Michelle Dahdah (centre) and Julia Dahdah (right) pose in Quelque Chose.

Eventually Julia’s sister, Michelle Dahdah, joined the business as a pastry chef. Michelle trained at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, and works alongside Julia to produce the shop’s macarons. “They do an amazing job,” said David. Explaining the pivotal role they play in the business, he said the two make all the macarons that are sold in Quelque Chose.

David and Julia would go on to establish not just one location, but three—one in each of Vanier, the Byward Market and Westboro Village. Whereas the Vanier location of Quelque Chose is more of a production centre, said David, the shops in the ByWard Market and Westboro Village are set up to receive and welcome customers to stay and enjoy macarons on-site.

Lavender-coloured macarons are prepared by hand. Photo courtesy of Quelque Chose.

Asked about potential future plans in store for Quelque Chose, David said, “We would love to open more locations, to expand. It’s a good idea.” He said they have held pop-up holiday shops on the Quebec side and have been encouraged by their success. “We loved it,” said David. “People really liked the product. It was popular.”

That being said, explained David, expansion of the beloved macaron pastry shop may not happen any time soon, given the pandemic. “That’s sort of off the table for now,” he said, but is encouraged by the interest he sees in their products from customers outside Ottawa.

“We ship to Montreal and to Toronto,” said David. “Even though they have like thousands of pastry shops, there’s always room for a new one!”

To learn more about Quelque Chose, you can check out their website, or visit them on Facebook or Instagram.