2024-03-14 06:06:00
the essentials Three Lotois bakeries took part in the show “The best bakery in France”, which will be broadcast on M6 between March 18 and 22. Stéphane Reinat, one of the participants, talks behind the scenes of the filming and his atypical journey, which allowed him to be selected.
Will the “best bakery in France” be Lotoise? The cameras of theprogram broadcast on M6 opened the doors of three bakeries in the department. The latter face seven other competitors from the Occitanie region. During the week of March 18 to 22, we will be able to find Romain and Anaïs from the “Boulangerie C Romain” (Gramat) on the television channel on March 19, then Maxime and Fabrice from the “Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Bottero” (Martel) and Stéphane and Tomoko from the bakery “Le saint-Honoré” (Bretenoux) on March 21.
Stéphane Reinat talks about this “very enriching experience”. It was the show directly that sent a message to the baker to request his participation. “At first, I didn’t want to do it. I was afraid of not having the level. But they reassured me, and that made the team happy. We are a very small bakery, I have two apprentices and a young person who is finishing his apprenticeship and who is going to stay with us. We ended up getting started!”, laughs the baker.
“The jury was very attentive”
“We had a lot of work preparing and setting up, because we’re not used to all that. The young people were very excited. But the more the show came, the more stress there was. There was had adrenaline rushes, this competition atmosphere inside the company a few days before. And the same day, we said to ourselves: we’re only making bread! The film crew arrived, and we got re-motivated. It’s a great experience, it brought the team together a lot,” analyzes Stéphane.
Two team members. Photo provided by Stéphane Reinat
The jury, accompanied by its team and numerous cameras, was in full force on December 1st. Noëmie Honiat, famous pastry chef, discovered by M6 during season 3 of Top chef, was present as well as the Best Bakery Worker in France, Bruno Cormerais, and the legendary Toulouse restaurateur Michel Sarran, who joined the M6 adventure this year. “The atmosphere was very good-natured, the production was very welcoming. And the members of the jury were very attentive,” remembers Stéphane.
During the filming of the show. Photo provided by Stéphane Reinat
The bakeries are judged on four notes: the aesthetics of the store, the baker’s flagship product, the signature bread and the jury’s challenge (to create a product with a surprise ingredient). The bakery with the best score is selected for the national final which will be held in May. But the Lotois baker doesn’t say a word. To find out if the latter has a chance of being crowned, you have to watch the show!
An atypical journey, between the Lot and Asia
Stéphane Reinat was not selected at random to participate in the show. The television channel chose him for his atypical career. In 2007, after eight years spent managing a store in Provence, he left to teach the art of baking at the prestigious Cordon Bleu school in Tokyo. “I stayed there ten years. It’s the oldest French culinary school. Initially, it was a cooking school then pastry was integrated into it, and a few years ago, bakery as well”, describes Stephane. There, the training is focused on 80% practice. “We explain the different ingredients, the regions, the products and their specificities… We teach baking and at the same time a little geography too. In Asia, there is a real desire to have knowledge of the baking professions. mouth. It’s really a must, they have a passion for baking and pastries”, continues the Lotois baker.
Some delicious creations from the baker. Photo provided by Stéphane Reinat
Then, the latter tried his hand in Hong Kong to give lessons. And he ends up going to Shanghai (in China). “I was asked to come and set up a croissant manufacturing factory. I designed this mass production factory. We created machines that copy human gestures and we also developed a premium range. I ‘takes care of the artisanal part and the research and development on products. It’s another job, it’s super interesting! I’m a baker like millions of others, so finding myself designing a croissant factory Shanghai is unique,” describes Stéphane. In the meantime, the latter meets his wife, Tomoko. “She is Japanese. When I worked in Shanghai, I went back to Tokyo on weekends to see her. With covid, we didn’t see each other for two years. So we decided to return to France together”, smiled the baker. Together, they looked for a small bakery to take over. And here they are in the Lot, in Bretenoux. Stéphane confides: “we wanted something very family-friendly. Tomoko didn’t speak French very well at first so we wanted something with a local and friendly clientele, so that she could progress. The region and the village were perfect for that” .
Since then, Stéphane has divided his time between his small French bakery and Shanghai, where he remains an employee of the factory. What he likes to make: “pastries. When I arrived in the Lot, I discovered the recipe for this bread typically from here. We continued this recipe, and we also make a lot of country bread”. An appointment is made to find out if the Lotois shone in the show.
1710397762
#Japan #China #baker #settles #Lot #participates #bakery #France