OUR PATCH SEPTEMBER 2016
PARIS !
So why would a couple who had successfully run a bakery just south of Notre-Dame , near Place d ’ Italie , for 20 years suddenly decide that their future really lay in King Street ?
Keiko laughed . “ Well , for 20 years we had done the same thing , and we needed a change !”
In an odd way , moving to London was coming home . Although Alain is French and Keiko is from Tokyo , they actually met in London . “ I was a student and Alain was working in a restaurant ,” said Keiko .
“ So we met in London , and we were married in Westminster … but in the register office , not the abbey !” For a while they lived in New York ( where their son was born ) before coming back to London , then settling in Paris .
The working hours at Sainte-Anne wouldn ’ t suit everyone . Alain begins work between midnight and 1am , with Keiko strolling to join him from the couple ’ s home in Stamford Brook a few hours later .
There ’ s a touch of theatre about the shop ; you can watch Alain and his baking staff beavering away behind a glass wall as you meander your way to the not-so-secret garden through the bi-fold doors at the back ; a square courtyard with an awning , backed by a wall covered in jasmine , which releases its scent every time the wind whiffles through .
It contains a motley collection of unmatched pastel-painted chairs and salvage tables ; a welcome sanctuary from the bedlam of King Street .
It ’ s hot work in the shop ; and it got even hotter in August when a new , bigger bread oven was installed during
So why leave Paris ? Well , for 20 years we had done the same thing and we needed a change !
the couple ’ s annual holiday ( he nipped back to France , she to Japan ) to keep pace with growing demand .
From yummy mummies to business dealers , bread aficionados to wifi surfers , the regulars love the place , and you can order special-occasion gateaux and tartes , puff pastry slices and wedding cakes too .
Organic flour comes from a Gloucestershire mill , the milk is English , the chocolate Belgian … but there ’ s simply no alternative to the creamy , slow-churned French Charentes butter to create the croissants .
There is free wifi , and a lovely tendency to surprise unsuspecting diners with extra ‘ amuse-bouches ’, unexpected bonus mini slices of , for instance , hazelnut mousse cake topped by wafer-thin slivers of chocolate , served out of the blue in a tiny porcelain dish .
With barely 25 covers , most of the trade is take-out . Just don ’ t tell anybody about it ; it ’ s the place everyone in the know wants to keep to themselves ! It opens Tue-Sat 7am-7pm , Sun 8am-6pm . Patisserie Sainte-Anne , 204 King Street , W6 0RA . 020 8563 2046 . Visit : www . patisseriestaineanne . co . uk
TOTALLY THAMES FESTIVAL OFFERS A DIP IN THE RIVER
Wet , wet , wet : swimmers step forward
It isn ’ t often that residents are encouraged to fling themselves into the river . But there ’ s a rare opportunity to get wet on
Wednesday ( September 7 ). As part of the month-long Totally Thames season of events , celebrating our beautiful river , the Thames River Swim takes place .
It ’ s not a race or a competition , just a chance to join like-minded water lovers in a 1,500-metre swim at Hammersmith , timed to coincide with a beneficial tide .
Provided you ’ re an experienced swimmer , turn up at the Black Lion pub in Black Lion Lane before 5.30pm with your cossie and towel and join in the group swim until 8pm . The tide will assist you heading towards Chiswick Eyot , then provide a helping hand as it turns and you return towards Hammersmith .
At least 100 swimmers will pay £ 6 a head for the invigorating experience . Register in advance ( www . totallythames . org ) secure in the knowledge that support boats and the sea cadets will escort .
Naturally you will need refreshment afterwards as you dry and change in the pub , where you can also book a place at Cristiano ’ s Italian supper club , featuring seasonal dishes . Email info @ theblacklion-hammersmith . co . uk for reservations .
The third Totally Thames festival includes arts , cultural and archaeological events , with river installations , cabarets , concerts featuring specially composed works , angling and tall ship cruises .