RAMSBOTTOM may very well be foodie heaven with its variety of cuisines and specialities, but one thing many would agree it currently lacks is a patisserie.

But that is all set to change later this month when Bartisserie 2 takes over the former site of Lolo’s Vegan Restaurant and Bar in Market Place.

The new venture belongs to Bury-born Ethan Ballan, aged 25, a former chef at London’s prestigious Dorchester Hotel.

He says the new addition to Ramsbottom’s high street will be a bistro and patisserie, offering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, pastries and an à la carte menu.

Mr Ballan, who grew up in Tottington, developed a passion for food from a young age, which he says was inherited from his family.

He began working as a pot washer at the Red Lion pub in Hawkshaw as a teenager, but quickly progressed to being a chef. Upon finishing his studies at Bury Grammar School, he decided to study professional cookery at Bury College and realised he had a passion for patisserie.

After several chef jobs, he was lucky enough to find work at the Dorchester Hotel, firstly in the pastry kitchen and latterly in the afternoon tea section.

It was during his three and a half years there that he mastered his craft before becoming the head pastry chef at the San Carlo Group in Manchester,

However, he has now decided to fulfil his ambition of branching out on his own.

He said: “I have been working towards this since I moved back from London.

“Ramsbottom has been getting busier and busier the last few years and when Lolo’s became available the size and location was perfect for what I wanted to do.”

The premises has undergone a refurbishment, leaving it with an ‘art deco, but modern look’, according to Mr Ballan.

While there is no exact date for when Bartisserie 2 will officially open to the public, he says he is hoping the refurbishment will be complete in the next few weeks, allowing it to open by the end of the month.