« Here there will be a large window so customers can see us working the bread. And there, the refrigerated display cases with the products. » Éric Vacavant enthusiastically guides us around the construction site of his future bakery, Place du Marché de l’Arlequin. His impatience is palpable. “ The project started three years ago. I can’t wait to open and offer my products, some of which I inherited from my father, himself a baker.. »
To make his 100% homemade treats, the baker will be able to count on four employees and apprentices that he himself recruited, all residents of the neighborhood. “ One of my goals is to pass on my knowledge to my employees so that they can take over the bakery when I retire.. »
Among the specialties, you can find walnut bread, banette bread, but also the Harlequin brick, a dessert created specifically in honor of the district and its emblematic red bricks. “ It’s a cake on a successful basis with a crunchy biscuit covered with red chocolate and pieces of toasted hazelnuts », explains the baker.
“People are impatiently waiting for the return of a bakery but don’t really believe in it anymore”
Because he is keen to respect the diversity of cultures and diets, Éric will offer halal products, gelatin-free pastries but also vegan sandwiches, organic bread, traditional pastries… “ My goal is to produce quality while meeting the needs expressed by residents. » To guarantee this quality, he will use natural ferments to make his bread rise, “ it gives it more taste and crispiness, a beautiful color and better conservation ».
The baker does not hide the difficult reality of the neighborhood that he has seen evolve over time, particularly with the successive closure of businesses. “ People are impatiently waiting for the return of a bakery but don’t really believe in it anymore. I want to show that we can carry out such a project even in a sensitive neighborhood. » His best weapon to get there? His sense of contact. “ I talked a lot with residents, especially young people, to make my project known and accepted. »
The baker also plans to offer workshops to children from surrounding schools and to mothers in the neighborhood in order to pass on to them his taste for good things.
