Xavier
The American Dream: Baker edition
I met with the head baker of Utopie, a famous bakery in Paris. He shared a genuinely moving backstory and emphasised the importance of never letting go of your dreams. He also shared some incidents that I didn't see coming. If you ask me, it´s a true American dream story, but this time, it´s true.
Xavier is a guy with a friendly face who looks more like a security guard than a baker. Over coffee, he told me how exactly he got into the metier. It wasn't exactly my passion, as people know it from the classic American movie. When he was thirteen, he had no choice but to grow up fast and find a job to support his sick mother. They lived on the poorer outskirts of Paris, where he had the choice between work- or street life. He found some household jobs until a friend's father finally offered him to help in his bakery. At a young age, he started by doing little things, but occasionally, he got to do some more significant tasks. He was 14 years old when he decided to do a pre-formation in the bakery, followed by a 3-year apprenticeship. Looking back, he had worked in 15 different bakeries, each with different experiences, good and bad. He told me about one bad experience; he was 21 and worked with an old-fashioned conservative baker who had bought the place and couldn't fire the staff. Instead, he insulted everyone for their race and mistreated them until they left. “That experience kinda took away the hopes of a content life as a baker”. He started working in a supermarket, but it was unbearable, so he quit after only a few months and found himself lost and demotivated. So he pursued another vocation: becoming a bodyguard (yes, big plot twist, he WAS a bodyguard). For over a year, he went to bodyguard school until the second year, when he couldn't afford it anymore.
This is the part of the story where the character is collecting his last piece of hope and tries, for the last time, to become a respectable baker. When he was 23 years old, he became head baker of a boulangerie, then did little jobs in all kinds of bakeries all over Paris. That's when he shared an unbelievable story with me.
Having become head baker of another boulangerie, he worked all day in the cellar of the bakery, rolling his bread from early to noon. He didn't know the oven had a gas leak, and the odourless carbon monoxide gas leaked into the cellar. After a few months, he passed out and barely got up the stairs to alert someone. They sent him home, and neither thought much of it. A baker's life comes with intense pressure, sleep deprivation, and heavy work, so passing out wasn't the most unusual thing that could happen. He came back the next day, but only a few days later, he passed out again. Finally, he decided to see a doctor. When he arrived at the hospital, and they checked his blood for any gas, the doctor turned to him and yelled. Why are you still alive?? You have an amount of gas in your blood that would already have killed others! In this case, his healthy lifestyle saved his life. (quick reminder to exercise more). The bakery, including the whole neighbourhood, was evacuated and closed for three months. I couldn't believe it when he told me that he had returned afterwards.
Finally, he was looking for a new job and walked into Erwan and Sebastien, who just opened a little corner bakery and were looking for a head baker. It´s now been 25 years since I worked at Utopie, he said nostalgically. Today, he is used to taking interviews and the long queues in front of the bakery. Utopie didn't only win “Best Bakery in France 2016”, but they also repeatedly won prizes like “The Best Baguette in Paris” in 2024. Even the New York Times and Chinese newspapers interviewed him.
After all this time working in the milieu, he faced problems that he labelled as a pattern in any bakery. Communication is a huge deal in this industry, but wherever you go, you never find good-quality one, especially between vendors, bakers, and pastry chefs. The result is a mediocre ambience and a bad workflow. He dreams of reunions once a week to discuss the necessary improvements.
Another problem is the distance between the baker and the client. How am I supposed to know what they think of my baked goods? He argues. This topic will appear in many articles to come since it's such an underlying issue. Utopie found a solution: putting the bakery at the client's disposal, who can see the work environment and the healthy teamwork. It sells the bread better.
One day, I will open my own place. I will offer a small selection of baked goods and formations for clients to see what it´s like to be a baker and create such an essential product out of flour, salt, and water. Working with hands is truly an experience; the client should be part of it.
To end the American love story, Xavier advises future bakers to never give up on their dream vocation. There will be moments of disbelief, and yes, it's a hard job with long hours and not the best pay, but there is nothing better than the love between a man and his bread.
Sidenote: Xavier is currently writing a book about his bread creations. Utopie is known for its creative baked goods, such as sourdough viennoiserie and aesthetic pastry. On weekends, they offer a limited edition of extra creative baked goods and pastries. The other week, he made bread made of café, caramel, and puffed rice. This weekend, it was carrot, cumin, and coriander—unforgettable flavour combinations you usually only find at gastronomic restaurants. No wonder he´s called the Alchemist de la Boulangerie.
The bakery Utopie from inside