62 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {food coloring} turn, feel a sense of connection and have even called from the freeway asking to reserve their favorite pastry. When Ingrid had to break the news to a regular customer that they were no longer able to make his favorite olallieberry scones, he offered to drive to Pescadero, pick up the berries and deliver them to the bakery himself. François's passion for baking began as a child in France, where he remembers the aroma of croissants hanging in the morning air in his neighborhood. “I was lucky enough to be raised in Bordeaux and the Basque Country,” he says. “There were phenomenal bakers and I would go to the farmers markets on a regular basis by myself or with my parents.” A self-confessed gourmet and foodie, he says his happy place is in the kitchen. As a trained pastry chef, François studied and apprenticed for six years in France before working at top French restaurants in Tokyo, bakeries in Canada and finally as executive pastry chef at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco. “The food scene in France is a very high-pressure, super demanding environment to work in,” François confesses. “The French pastry chef I worked for at the Ritz used the intense French style in the kitchen and it didn’t go over well in America,” he says. “We had HR coming to the kitchen on a regular basis.” Eventually, La Boulange bakery hired Frantional espresso drinks plus inventive offerings such as Tokyo Fog Matcha and Ginger & Turmeric Chai. François scours the San Mateo Farmers Market for fruit and vegetables for their seasonal flavors and claims he would not step foot in most local grocery stores. “We would never use ingredients that are not the top,” he declares. The French duo have another mission beyond baking—to share the connection they felt growing up with the people who made their food. “In France, when you go to the bakery, you know the owner,” says François. “This is what is missing here in the U.S.” Adds Ingrid, “We are part of the community here, and we know what is going on in our customers' lives.” Their patrons, in
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