Taste of Oklahoma: Bringing French Pastry Flavor To Jenks

A French American bakery is gracing downtown Jenks with handmade pastries, pies, French goods and so much more.

Patisserie by Sheila Anne offers truly authentic French pastries that take days to make, all to transport its customers to a cafe in Europe.

Sheila Dills is the owner and head chef at the bakery. She decided later in life that baking was her passion, so she studied under world-class chefs and is now bringing her pastry skills back home.

It may not be Paris, but the next best thing is Patisserie by Sheila Anne in the heart of downtown Jenks.

Glass display cases host pastries of all colors and textures, each meticulously hand-crafted and waiting to be savored. The namesake behind the bakery is Sheila Dills. She opened her store a few months ago and designed it with a goal to transport customers straight to a French cafe.

“I love the artistry of French pastry, it's just beautiful,” Dills said.

Baking was part of Sheila’s life growing up.

“When I was a child, my mother was always baking, her pies were always famous.”

Before opening the bakery, Sheila did real estate and served in the state legislature for several years. But she still had one more big dream.

“My husband passed away 5 years ago," she said. "I was looking for something new and different that had always been on my dream list.”

She started by selling pies at a local shop, before really diving into French baking education.

“I didn't really get serious about serious courses until 2022 when I went to Paris and spent time there on a fundamentals course.”

She also took a 10-week course with a famous chocolate chef in Las Vegas.

Now, in her own kitchen, she can share all of that knowledge with her budding pastry chefs, many of whom were interns from the OSU IT culinary program.

“It's a wonderful culture we have in the kitchen.”

Croissants are the simple but painstaking staple that takes three days of work for about three minutes of bliss.

"You want the dough to stay as cold as possible, you don't want the butter to melt," Sheila said.

They get an egg wash spritz, then it's time to proof. The classic croissant is crispy, flaky, and light, and you can turn it up a notch with other flavors.

“This our raspberry almond croissant, we put almond creme, raspberry jam, and powdered sugar, it's actually twice baked."

The crispy almonds and subtle sweetness make this one a fan favorite. Back in the kitchen, chefs pipe mini macarons which will bake and get a layer of pistachio ganache and raspberry jam. A French specialty they offer is the canale, which is similar to a creme brulee.

They’re baked in these special molds from Bordeaux. The treats get a dip in sugar, and are filled with jam and topped with whipped cream and a strawberry. One seasonal option is the lemon meringue “taco” in a tart shell, which get a torched filling and is topped with gold leaf and lime zest.

The bakery has lots of savory options too, like chicken and spinach crepes with a bechamel sauce.

The crepes are filled, rolled, and topped with the bechamel, cheese, and parsley for garnish.

Sheila spends a lot of her day teaching and helping her staff learn from her mistakes.

“I want to give everything I know away," she said. "I've learned the hard way.”

All these details are intentional so that each person stepping into Sheila’s shop feels special.

Sheila has plans for expansion, and for now, she says she wakes up every day eager to share her beautiful works of art that taste just as delicious as they look.

“It’s this wonderful feeling of community and relationships I love."

Email Kristen.Weaver@griffin.news for recommendations.