the baker-pastry chef who won over gourmets in Paris

See my news
Follow Paris News

The first snowflakes of the year tumble from the Paris sky, slipping between the Christmas lights hung on rue des Martyrs (9th), then fade on contact with the asphalt. A few steps away, Arnaud Delmontel threw his cap bearing the image of a baseball franchise on the leather bench of Restaurant Amour, leaving the establishment's exotic garden behind him. Listing his latest readings, the man who will be 57 on December 30, 2024, rewinds time to the first chapter of his professional life: “I had this dream, this star that guided me along the way: start, one day, my business. But it was a completely crazy idea, no one around me had done it.”

Twenty-five years after purchase of its first storethe school failure child from the “middle class” has five, in addition to having received numerous prizes. His long coffee has just been served to him, his eyes are now laughing. “Maybe that’s why I like adventure novels so much?” », he asks amusedly.

Chaotic schooling

The beginning of his life takes place in a rural setting, in the heart of the small town of Soisy-sur-Seine, nestled between the river and the forest of Sénart, in the department of Essonne and where the craftsman remembers go get milk from the farm. With a first turning point, as steep as it is foundational. “At school, I lost my bearings, I had the feeling of only existing through noteswhile I was convinced that I could be good at other things. They ended up making me understand that studies were not for me and I stopped in 3rd grade,” he recalls. And to resume:

I think that I then retained this desire to prove, to make my comeback. It was for me a kind of powerful inner engine

In his grandfather's workshop, where he likes to rummage through tools, Arnaud Delmontel then becomes aware of his taste for what we do with our hands . And he decided, based on the little information he had at the time, to undertake a BEP in hotel and catering. Without feeling a lot of support from those close to him. “I come from the middle class and the French model being what it is… I wasn't really congratulated(He pouts). Let's just say that things would have happened differently if I had studied at HEC. »

New flight

Initially a chef, Arnaud Delmontel found his way during a season in the mountains, in Courchevel. “There was no pastry clerk in the establishment I went to, so I got the job. That's how I knew this was what I wanted to do. » Back in Paris, he undertook a pastry CAP in Vincennes: the start of the great adventure. “I had this dream of starting my business, but it was an Everest. I quickly understood that I was going to have to work hard. »

What he will do, alongside the best worker in France, Jean-Paul Hévinat the Nikko hotel, then at the House of Chocolate chez Pradier or Gérard Mulot in Paris, in particular. “I have always favored working in big houses,” he says. The working conditions are harder, it’s sometimes less well paid, but you learn.”

Before his thirties, he will also freelance for 18 months in the United States with his wife Valérie. In the Chicago of the 90sfirst, of which he brought back some juicy anecdotes. Then to the four corners of the country: “We took a road trip and I sometimes thought about settling down there, notably in a nazebroque boutique in Boston that I imagined I could transform… But our families were here and we are income. »

Historic address of the bakery in Paris

At the dawn of the year 2000 and after around fifty visits, Arnaud Delmontel will get his hands on a wonder of Parisian heritage. Without really knowing it at the time. “When you don't have great means, you take what you're given. The building was beautiful, on a shopping street, the laboratory was quite large and I was convinced I could do better than the previous owner. » Helped by his parents, he bought La Renaissance, at 39 rue des Martyrs, against a sum that would seem laughable today.

“It was a more popular street than it is today. In this neighborhood, I knew the Bus Palladium, the Palaceetc. Not Rue des Martyrs. But gradually, in the 2000s, young couples, mostly senior executives, settled down and the street has gentrified. » Beyond its advantageous geographical location, La Renaissance happens to be a historic building in the capital, which has been welcoming bakers for at least 150 years.

Arnaud Delmontel led the investigation: “In the Paris bakery directory, it appears for the first time in 1872-73, then in 1875 under the name of Beaumont… The building even dates from 1901.”

Parisian success story

His appetite came with eating, and over time the artisan bought four other shops. At 57 rue Damrémont (18th) in 2004, at 25 rue de Lévis in 2009, at 45 rue de Douai (9th) in 2013, as well as at the Aligre market (12th) in 2019. “I have this image in head of the boss who waits for retirement while smoking his cigarette… I'm afraid of being bored,” he concedes. Before adding: “As soon as I work a little less, I take up a business. While trying to maintain a family balance. »

The native of the 14th arrondissement of Paris has also written two recipe books and won the prize for best baguette in Paris in 2007. Its know-how has also attracted some famous clients, from Jean-Paul Gaultier to Audrey Tautou. Swallowing the last drop of his hot drink, he finally remembers a moment spent with Jean-Yves Lafesse during a delivery. Then takes a final look back, where the image of his difficult school years loses intensity. And said: “I respect authority, but I have never liked constraint.”

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.