The Cronut creator sleeps just 3 hours a night

For pastry chef Dominique Ansel, 38, the weekend is a sweet combination of work and play: The Willy Wonka-like Cronut creator works six days a week at his two New York bakeries but spends Sundays exploring the city. Ahead of hosting the Midnight in Paris Dessert Tasting on Saturday at the Food Network and Cooking Channel’s New York City Wine & Food Festival, the Paris native, who now lives in Midtown, tells HAILEY EBER about his typical weekend.

SUNDAY is technically my day off, but I still wake up early, often before 4 a.m. I have what I call the baker’s jet lag.

I’ll make myself scrambled eggs with shallots and chives. I like them nice and runny. It’s hard to get good scrambled eggs in New York City—I often find them overcooked. I’ll have some toast, usually a baguette from Maison Kayser. I don’t make my own bread at home. I’m not that hard-core. I’ll have a cup or two of coffee. I used to drink six or eight cups a day, but I’ve slowed down a bit.

Then I’ll check in on both my bakeries and maybe go for a run in Central Park. Fall is my favorite season — it’s still sunny, the days are not too hot, and all the trees are changing colors.

Every other week I try to catch a movie, but I haven’t had a lot of time lately. The last film I saw in theaters was “Bridget Jones’s Baby.” It was pretty good. Or I’ll go check out some art, go to the Whitney or Storm King. I recently went to the Noguchi Museum in Queens.

I really like to go for a drive and explore a bit. I’ll take the bakery minivan to go check out restaurants in the outer boroughs with my girlfriend, Amy.

Two weeks ago I went to City Island in The Bronx to eat seafood at Johnny’s Reef. I had some Alaskan crab legs that were really good. I also love going out to eat in Flushing. I recently went to a nice Korean restaurant there, Geo Si Gi, that was recommended by a friend of mine, Hooni Kim, who owns Hanjan in [the Flatiron District]. I loved the gamjatang, a soup made with pork, potatoes, fresh perilla leaves, rice cakes and enoki mushrooms.

On Sunday night I usually Skype with my bakeries in Tokyo and London, the latter of which just opened. It’s really important to stay connected with them.

I’ll go to bed around midnight and wake up no later than 5 a.m. I usually get three or four hours a night of sleep. I get tired every once in a while, but I can’t complain.

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