inthekitchen
turnovers , and a luscious apricot tart oozing with pastry cream and glistening , plump fruit . Like traditional French pâtisseries , the bakery also serves savouries , such as quiche and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches covered in velvety béchamel . A handful of café tables bathed in late day sunshine hold customers seemingly reluctant to leave their warm cocoon , as if the big cups of good , dark coffee and aniseed cookies have magically transported them to the south of France .
Part of the bakery ’ s appeal comes from Nathalie , whose broad smile and charming accent are as irresistible as her pastries . She learned the fine art of customer service from her mother , at her parents ’ bakery in Marseille , France . There , from the age of seven , she ran the cash register while her
Once , it took four attempts in a row to create a satisfactory choux pastry . “ You have to incorporate the flour quickly into the butter and water and dry the dough to the maximum ,” she explains , adding that now she can make it in her sleep .
That ’ s probably a good thing , as she and Gilles arrive at four o ’ clock every morning to bake the bread that has been rising overnight in the French proofing ovens , attend to the cream fillings and prepare the flaky dough for the napoleons and croissants . Some ingredients are imported , like nongenetically modified German flour , and some are local , like the butter from Notre Dame de Lourdes . ( Surprised by the extra water in Canadian butter , they had to adjust their recipes .)
“ My mother said you should do only what you are good at .”
father baked in the back . Later , she took on the accounting duties and worked in the shop every weekend until she was 18 .
The budding business owner spent a year in London , UK , working as an au pair and learning English , followed by a stint in Toronto studying business management . When she returned to France , she met Gilles and persuaded him to join the family business , apprenticing with Nathalie ’ s father and formally training as a pastry chef . Eventually the couple moved to a shop of their own in Avignon .
Even in a country known for its bakeries , supermarkets selling bread caused the baker ’ s trade to wane . One day , a newspaper ad for opportunities in Canada sparked the discussion that would lead to a major life change . Intrigued by the potential , they made plans to sell the shop , and at the age of 40 , Nathalie enrolled in the prestigious Institut National Boulangerie Pâtisserie in Rouen to obtain her pastry chef diploma .
Baking was still an industry dominated by men , and instructors were demanding .
By six o ’ clock , a small crew begins the éclairs while Nathalie fills the bread racks and display cases . In the afternoon , she starts the sponge cakes , chocolate mousse , cookies and glazes while Gilles makes the bread dough and seven varieties of macarons .
When it first opened , their Winnipeg shop served 17 people a day compared to 600 in France . As word spread they were quickly embraced by customers who became ambassadors ; now , sixty baguettes fly out the door every Saturday and lineups snake down the street .
She leads us to a 1973 photo of her parents standing in front of their Marseille bakery . “ My mother said you should do only what you are good at ,” smiles Nathalie , who has more than accepted the challenge . Her talents as a businesswoman and baker have been magnified by her devotion to classic French baking techniques and commitment to quality , creating some of the finest pastries in the city .
What could be sweeter than that ?
14 ciao ! / apr / may / two thousand seventeen