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Le Tour du PainandA day in the life of the Chef Boulanger at Au Pavé du Roy
Susan Gish writes: Sam and I went on a magical tour of Au Pavé du Roy: Artisan Patissier Chocolatier Boulanger Glacier Traiteur.Our rendez-vous was with Mme Laurence Campanella, who is the 3rd generation owner of the shop. She invited us to come on a morning inOctober, and we were very happy to accept her kind invitation.Entering the atelier, my first impression was how clean the bakery was.Everyone was wearing masks and working very cleanly.
There are three Chefs: One for the Viennoisserie, one for the Patisserieand one for the Boulangerie. There are also bakers and apprentices.Le Tour du Pain in 3 stages:Stage 1: ViennoisserieStage 2: PatisserieStage 3: BoulangerieStage 1: Viennoisserie: Our timing was perfect! There was a ‘peloton’of bakers in a row making pain au chocolat. One was cutting the puffpastry, another was filling with Valrhona chocolate strips, and anotherwas folding the pastry.Three bakers all working together, riding the flat and then the hillstogether as a team, one ‘pulling off’ to get to the oven.They’d just finished forming the croissants and putting them into theoven as well. A tray of warm croissants came out and were ‘drafting’by us to deliver to the bakery and oh the smell was amazing!All are made with pure butter, pur beurre.Madame Campanella explained that Au Pavé du Roy is one of only two places inAix-en-Provence that makes their own croissants.The Viennoisserie is also where the pain au raisin (escargot) and otherbreakfast pastries, are made. My favorite is their croissant made withpistachio creme and topped with slivered almonds. Or maybe theNutella croissant! American style chocolate chip cookies, some withpecans, some with almonds!Stage 2: Patisserie: The next station was the patisserie. Here iswhere the magnificent cakes are made, the mille-feuille (pronouncethat, beginner french students!), eclairs, fruit tarts…Au Pavé du Roymakes their own ice cream and sorbet, and has decadent ice creamcakes! Can’t wait to try one. In the freezer case was an ice creamcake with hazelnuts and a chocolate Hérissonne / Hérisson on top,guess what that is! (Answer: Hedgehog). They are an amazingchocolatier also. Chocolate cats, chocolate people, chocolatesculpture for every holiday…Oh, my gosh, navettes Marseillaises!We got one to try that day, yum!One of the bakers was making a pastry cream – créme patisserie.But this area is busier later in the day. The morning is meant forbreakfast pastries, breads and lunches.
Stage 3: Boulangerie: The bread ovens and bread stations are in the far back of the Atelier. Which leads us to:A day in the life of the Chef Boulanger at Au Pavé du Roy.Chef Jean-Marc Cicala.3:00 am:Chef Cicala wakes up to go to work.3:30-4:00 am:He arrives at the atelier and lights the oven first.4:00-5:00 am:His team arrives. There is one baker and two apprentices.The baker and adult apprentice arrive at 4 am.The underage apprentice comes at 5 am.6:00 am:Everyone in the bakery has a coffee and one of their owncroissants or pain au chocolat. (except lately with the lock down,it isn’t possible to get the coffee from the Café next door)4:00 am – Noon:Following is the order and explanation of what the bakers do.Different breads require different amounts of kneading and rising.Pétrissage: Kneading the doughPointage: Waiting for the dough to riseFaçonnage: Shaping of the doughStockage en chambre de pousse pour le lendemain:Cold Storage of the dough to retard the riseCuisson: Cooking the breadPetrissage– The first part of the process. The kneading machineis started. This is not your typical dough hook in a KitchenAidor a bread machine. It’s quite a large machine and duplicates themotion of kneading by hand.Premiere Petrie–The kneading of the wheat flour baguette.Pointage–The dough is put into the Chambre de Pousse(proofing oven) overnight for 10/12 hours. There it ferments;rises slowly, and after they are ready for the:Faconnage-The shaping or forming of the bread.There is a Deuxième Petrie–A second kneading for their specialty sourdough baguette called,‘La Parisse’. It’s made from very high-quality flour whose recipewas developed by Gaëtan, Paris Meilleur Ouvrier de France 1997.Other Petries/kneading are for:Whole wheat breadCiabatta (olive oil and wheat)Organic breadEinkorn – petit épeautre – anciennes grainsSeigle – RyeCereal breads – multi-grainSandwich breadBuns & BagelsRustic breadsWhile the kneading is taking place, the bakers cook the breadsand alternate the work.They go back and forth between the above processes, dependingon the type of bread that they are making.The apprentices bring the breads into the shop bakery allthroughout the day, as they are made.On a typical day they make:150–200 baguettes100–120 banettes80-100 la parisse40-60 different specialty breadsThe same breads are made each day.Ingredients: Bread is only flour, water, salt & yeast.Nuts, honey, olive oil, dry fruits or vegetables, seeds aresometimes added.They use 10–15 different local flours.(The bakery as a whole, uses as many local ingredients aspossible. The flour, eggs, and fruit (when seasonal) are local.12:00–1:00Jean–Marc’s work day ends. He goes home to eat his lunch withhis family.I asked Chef Cicala a few questions about himself:Where have you worked?I have been at Pavé du Roy for 14 years, since 2006.I also worked in two different bakeries in Aix that are closed now,and 3 years in French Polynesia.When do you see your family?I see them in the afternoon, evening and every other weekend.Was anyone in your family a baker or a cook?If you have children, do they have interest in baking/cooking?No-one in my family was a baker or cook. I have one boy who isnot really interested in baking.Do you enjoy being a Chef?I chose my job; I love making good bread!Finally, are you a sports fan?I’m not fan of foot, my hobby is Judo; I’m Judoka, a black belt.Thank you for reading, ‘Le Tour de Pain’. I hope it was pain-less.It was the yeast I could do to tell this story.Perhaps we can break bread together sometime soon!Au Pavé du RoyArtisan Patissier Chocolatier Boulanger Glacier Traiteur.04 42 26 22 81 – 9 Cours d’Orbitelle –just next to Hotel Roi RenéOpen Tues-Sun 7:00am-8:00pm – aupaveduroy on Instagram.Photos by Sam Gish.
aixcentric 
Loved this story!!
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Thanks for reading, Fran!
Great to read…many thanks 🙂
Thank you, Lis!
Having spent 35 years in Aix your article about the Pavé du Roi was very illuminating and informative. Perfect, thank you. Your description of the process was very enlightening and does make one want to buy their delicious breads and pastries.
So glad, thank you, Liz! Everything is so delicious. I often get my lunch there as well. One of my favorites is a slice of Quiche, which is made in the old style, very high and fluffy.