Bokar Diallo arrived as a minor and alone in France. His passion for baking pushed him towards the owners of the Pistore bakery in Clermont-Ferrand, in Auvergne. Thanks to their support and motivation, Bokar became a permanent baker.
“I want to feed people“, it is with this sentence that Bokar Diallo convinced the bosses of the Le Pistore bakery in Clermont-Ferrand to take him on as an apprentice in 2017. The bakery was his dream. A passion discovered very young when he helped his baker uncle in Mali.What he likes is to touch the dough”, says Christelle Touchefeu, co-manager of the Clermont bakery, alongside Hervé Durif. Around the age of 16, Bokar decided to leave his country alone for Europe. “It was complicated if I stayed there, I wouldn’t have had the same future“, explains Bokar
The dates of his trip remain unclear, odd jobs, a passage through Mauritania, Morocco, Spain. It was in 2014 that he arrived in Lyon before being referred to Clermont-Ferrand by the authorities. He attended the Amédée-Gasquet high school. “I was motivated, I wanted to find a job and I looked for the bakeries closest to the high school“, remembers the young man.
Bokar Diallo and Christelle Touchefeu during the presentation of the “Companies committed to youth” prize.
•
© All rights reserved
Christelle remembers her meeting with Bokar. “He arrived during the day with an internship agreement, accompanied by two friends, all smiles and speaking a few words of French“. Quickly, during the internship, the young man stood out. Diligent, he quickly memorized the gestures and tasks. He convinced Hervé Durif, fellow baker and co-manager of the bakery, to take him on a CAP in 2016.
Thanks to a training center for specialized apprentices and the support of the local mission, he is supported to learn to speak and write French, while completing his diploma. “I thought I wouldn’t make it, they told me to keep going.” Bokar explains. Finally, once his CAP in hand, he went on to obtain an additional mention and a professional certificate thanks to the support of his bosses.
A beautiful journey that Bokar would never have imagined. Today, he has been on a permanent contract with the bakery for two years and his passion has not wavered. “I love starting with simple ingredients and making something beautiful out of them.“. The latest good news to date, “I have had French nationality for a few months“, explains Bokar. A relief after years of temporary residence permits.
Next dream for the young man, “maybe open my own bakery in the future“, he confides. Christelle Touchefeu is confident about her future, “with him everything is possible“.
