Emy Wada expanded to New York in 2001 with the company Lady M.
Wada was a Japanese pâtissière who had studied in France and operated Paper Moon Cake Boutiques in Japan. She became associated with the mille-crêpes cake, a dessert made by stacking many thin crêpes with pastry cream between the layers. In 2001, her New York venture helped bring that style of cake to a wider American audience through Lady M.
Lady M initially operated as a wholesale business, supplying cakes to New York hotels and restaurants. The brand later became known for luxury cake boutiques and its signature Mille Crêpes, often described as a stack of roughly 20 handmade crêpes layered with light pastry cream.
The wording can cause a mix-up because Wada did not simply open a French crêperie. Lady M was a confectionery company centered on layered cakes, and its product was a Japanese-developed interpretation of a French pastry idea. The company’s New York launch therefore connects French technique, Japanese pastry development, and an American boutique business.