- Alright, we're going to Clafoutis,
which is a traditional
French bakery, patisserie,
here in the high desert of New Mexico.
We're gonna be meeting
with Anne and Philippe,
who has traveled back
and forth from France
but couldn't get New
Mexico our of their heart.
They've been here for 10 years,
and now the lines are out the door
for the best baguette in all of Santa Fe.
♪ So long baby, I'm on my way ♪
- Bonjour, Sheldon, nice to meet you!
- Bonjour, Sheldon, hi.
- Smells amazing in here.
- Thank you!
- You guys have been up early baking.
- He is waking up early, I'm coming later.
- I walked in the door
and I was instantly
whisked away to France.
How did you guys end up in Santa Fe?
- We traveled a lot,
and we wanted another adventure.
So, we came in New Mexico.
The first bakery we
opened was in Albuquerque.
It was crazy, we sold
our bakery in France;
take our two daughters,
we didn't speak English.
We bought a Cuban bakery, which
is nothing, and we started.
- Did you visit any other states prior?
- No.
- So your first taste of
America was New Mexico?
- Yes, people are so nice; so welcoming.
- From what time do you
get here in the morning?
- Two.
- Two o'clock in the morning?
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Sheldon] Does anybody
else make the bread?
- [Philippe] No, only me.
- Not even Anne?
- No, no.
(laughing)
- No way, no way!
- [Sheldon] Where'd you
learn to do bread first?
- [Phillipe] In France; 14 years old.
- All I wanted to do at 14
was go fishing, surfing, or do whatever.
But you wanted to make bread.
- Yes, the baker is working in the morning,
and in the afternoon is
off, so it's good job!
- Good job, huh?
What are you looking
for in a perfect dough?
- Strong; the yeast is good.
Elastic, this is good bread.
Sometimes you do this and
(imitates tearing) it's broke.
- Oh, it breaks.
That's not the sign of a good bread.
- One, two, and after...
- You're a master Chef.
Okay, so, one two.
- This is good, but, don't (be) scared.
- [Sheldon] Okay.
- It don't cry, the dough.
- Yeah yeah, it's not gonna bite me?
(laughing)
- Push forward, this, push, and yeah.
- It has a head.
- That's okay, yeah.
- I'll go back to washing dishes.
- It's not easy.
Perfect, okay.
- All right.
- [Philippe] This is the signature,
so all the baker have the signature.
- So you leave your mark on the bread
by they way that you cut it?
- Yes.
One is easy, not one!
No, three or four, three, yes.
- Chef, what time is my break?
- No break.
- No break? (laughs)
- Okay, one more.
We need water for the crust and the color.
- We were one of the
youngest bakers in France
because when we opened our
first bakery, I was not even 19.
- Oh!
- Me 22.
- He was 22.
- Tell me about those times
being 19 years old and owning a bakery.
- It was hard, I have to say.
I was the only one in the front,
and he was the only one in the back.
We learned a lot!
- I worked five years; no day off.
- So, what are we gonna make next?
- Next, we make mille-feuille.
This is a custard.
- Mille-feuille, custard.
- This morning, I baked
the puff pastry, I bake...
I'll take the...
- He's fast, huh?
- Vanilla.
- Spatule.
- Chef, you move so fast!
I see you sliding everywhere.
- Yes. (laughs)
- You're here; you're here; you're there.
- We need to work fast.
- Efficient, yeah, work fast.
- For one, perfect.
Yes, exactly, just like the cross-section.
- Oh yeah, like dry wall, making dry wall.
- This is the fondant, like this.
- If you take too long,
it's gonna cool down.
- Yes, yeah, the chocolate.
Voila, voila, Chef!
(upbeat music)
- How did you both meet?
- I think it was, what we
call in France, a boom!
It was like little friends'
party where you dance.
- So you're dancing?
- We're dancing, and jump to me!
- Oh!
I gotcha, going that way.
And then after a few years of dating,
you guys decided to move?
- We had a baby, at 16!
- At 16, very young, okay.
- Charlotte was born.
Start a new adventure!
- Start a new adventure in life.
You had a friend that
invited you to Albuquerque?
So, after that visit you
returned back to France,
with the idea of, maybe,
let's do a French bakery
in New Mexico.
- This is my favorite: bread and butter.
- Bread, butter, jam, the best breakfast.
- Oh, I can hear that,
look at that.
(crunching)
The crust is amazing.
The inside is so soft,
this is world class.
- And you dip in the coffee.
- Okay, you show me the way.
- This stuff, it's what
we call tartine in France.
You dip in your coffee.
- I can get used to that.
- Yeah, the traditional
breakfast in France.
- This is the mille-feuille?
- Mille-feuille.
- Mille-feuille, yes.
1,000 leaves it's called
because of the layers.
- Big 'ole bite.
- It's a big bite, yes.
- Puff pastry is still crispy on top.
It's the perfect amount of sweetness.
- This is very popular in France.
- Was there a bakery
that you would go to as a kid?
- Yes, and in France, it's different.
People go every day, buying fresh bread.
- It's not like you go to Costco?
- No, that's not the same!
People come two times a day.
They come for the first
baked bread on the morning
and they come on the afternoon
to have a freshest baguette.
- For the dinner.
- It's a total different
concept for the bread.
- Yeah yeah yeah.
Why return to Santa Fe
and not Albuquerque?
- To change, again, it was just to, yeah.
- It's more smaller.
- All lot of different
people from everywhere.
A lot of art, a lot of good
food, and we are super happy.
- So what happens when you go on vacation?
- We close!
- [Sheldone] Ah!
- Every year we take, usually--
- Five weeks.
- Yeah, five weeks total.
- It's good for the staff.
- It's good for everyone else?
- [Anne] And for everyone.
For the staff, for us, for everybody.
- I walked around this whole place
and I didn't see green chili.
- If people ask, they
can have green chili.
- Oh, so you do!
- If they ask, we have some.
- That's that Santa Fe hospitality, huh?
- You have to, and I love the chili, too!
- With the success of this, expansion?
Maybe more locations?
- No.
- Why no locations?
- If you move, it's not
possible to control 100%.
- Your customers come to this one spot.
You want to see them, right?
- I want to see them!
- Every customer that
comes in, you greet them.
- For me, it's very, very important.
Those people come to you,
some of them come every day.
So, they're like family!
- Yeah, that's the tradition
of having a French bakery; it's every day.
(upbeat music)
It's like fermentation,
almost like sourdough.
That is a master, right there.
