Le Kori Doré - façade
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When I first heard about Le Kori Doré last December, I made up my mind to make the trek out to Puteaux as soon as possible to see the owner's magnificent Afro Cake Designs myself.

I finally made my way there last Friday to have lunch, figuring that I would get a good look at the baked goods while there.

My plan worked beautifully!

This Afro-Caribbean tearoom is owned by Nafissatou Ndiaye (Nafy).  She serves lunch every day.  There is a regular menu as well as daily specials you can consult on Instagram.  The plat du jour is posted on a sandwich board outside as well as on small slates inside the restaurant.

Le Kori Doré sandwich board
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Upon entering, you will find a display case to your left and the dining room to the front and right.  The display case containing twelve varieties of cupcake, each of which is dressed with a phenomenal Africa-inspired design that gives the business its name.

Le Kori Doré display case
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The dining room is rather small, but the tables are well spaced and the area is bright and inviting.

Le Kori Doré dining room
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Two niches on the right wall house examples of the multi-tiered cakes that Nafy creates.

Example of Afro Cake Design in rear niche
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Example of Afro Cake Design in front niche
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I opted to sit a the table for one next to the window.

Le Kori Doré dining room - table for one
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Whenever I go to an African restaurant I haven't tried before, I order their bissap to compare it with others that I've tasted.  I quite liked the one served at Le Kori Doré, and I was impressed with the glass straw that I received in my glass!

Bissap
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I wanted to try several things on the menu - pastels and sweet potato fries (Afro tapas), bananes pesées et pikliz, kinkéliba infusion - but I decided to order beef mafé, which was one of the daily specials.  I wasn't disappointed!

Mafé au boeuf
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I ate most of this dish and took what I couldn't finish home with me.  On a whim, I also ordered two servings of bokit poulet - the other plat du jour that day - for take-out with the intent to serve them for dinner that evening.

While I enjoyed my lunch, customers came in to order cakes and purchase gourmet items displayed on the left side of the restaurant.  I noted the care with which Nafy spoke with them and showed them photos of possible designs for their cakes.

Nafy with a customer
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I also took the time to peruse the merchandise she has displayed on shelving at the left rear of the room, on the counter next to the display case, and on the display case itself. 

Teas, jams, powders, and more
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Place settings and chocolate and hibiscus cubes for hot chocolate
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Chocolate bars
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Calebasse gourmande
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And then, there were the cakes and cupcakes themselves.  They are simply GORGEOUS!

Individually boxed cupcakes and cake boxed for client atop display case
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Cake boxed for client
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Individually boxed cupcake
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I purchased a box of six cupcakes and took them home to serve after our dinner of bokit poulet, a Guadeloupean sandwich made from a flat bread that is fried and stuffed with morsels of chicken. 

This dish came with sweet potato fries, so I was able to satisfy my desire to taste them after all. 

Bokit poulet, sweet potato fries, and sauce
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We enjoyed our sandwiches and fries, but we couldn't wait to tuck into the cupcakes.

Box of six Le Kori Doré cupcakes
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Nafy makes chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with six types of filling:

• guava and lime
• raspberry and ginger
• Ghanaian milk chocolate
• bissap
• passion fruit and mango
• coconut and white chocolate

We tried a vanilla cupcake with guava and lime cupcake and a chocolate cupcake with raspberry and ginger that evening.

Vanilla cupcake with guava and lime filling
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Vanilla cupcake with guava and lime filling - interior
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Chocolate cupcake with raspberry and ginger filling
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Chocolate cupcake with raspberry and ginger filling - interior
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Tom found the cupcakes to be exquisite.  I liked them as well, but found that the beautiful icing was not as sweet or soft as I'd like.

Nafy launched her business using KissKissBankBank, a French crowdfunding platform.  If you understand French, you can read her story HERE.

Puteaux is quite a distance from central Paris, but if you're at La Défense or the Bois de Boulogne, you can get there with relatively little difficulty.  I would definitely go back to try additional Afro tapas and sample the teas and the hot chocolate sold there. 

The tearoom is open from Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 7 PM and on Saturday from 11 AM to 8 PM.

Opening hours
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Le Kori Doré is located at 6, boulevard Richard Wallace in Puteaux.  The nearest public transportation is the 175 bus, the stop for which is less than a 5-minute walk away.