“Quality is all that matters,” says Romain Bernus, general manager of Le Petit Four, a French bakery slated to open at 380 Washington St. (at the former White’s Bakery location) hopefully on Tuesday, Dec. 24.
Bernus says Le Petit Four’s quality, measured against the highest of Parisian standards, has been hard won through attention to every detail. Baked goods are made with imported French flour and French butter. The equipment—mixers, ovens, and more—came over from France. As did Bernus, a Needham High School graduate, who along with his mother, Le Petit owner Valerie Coullet, and his sister, came to the United States 16 years ago.
Many Wellesley residents already count themselves as rabid fans of Le Petit Four. For the past several years Coullet has sold many of her goods at Captain Marden’s, Fells Market, and the Needham Farmers Market.
For a business that the self-taught baker started out of her garage in Needham, opening up the Wellesley store is something of a dream come true. Her son has finally come home from Los Angeles, where he’s been working in tech for five years, to help run the business. Head pastry chef Michel Benz, originally from Lyon France, and formerly a pastry chef at PB Boulangerie, has brought his talents from that well-known Wellfleet, Cape Cod bistro to Wellesley. And soon enough, the store will be fully up and running.
For the first few weeks, however, expect a partial opening as Le Petit Four operates as more of a pop-up than a fully operational bakery. There is still work to be done in the kitchen. When I stopped by the space was a hive of activity—electricians testing lights, HVAC technicians examining pipes, staff training on the fancy coffee machine.
So for now production of baked goods will take place in Le Petit Four’s industrial kitchen in Needham, and business in Wellesley will be take-out only. Once the bakery is fully open, baked goods will be made onsite, and there will be seating for about six in a cozy corner.
Some menu items to look forward to: baguettes, brioche loaf, croissants, pain au chocolat, kouign amann, breakfast and lunch items, linzer cookies, caneles, and much more.
“What I tell people is come taste what a real croissant tastes like,” Bernus says, “We want to make Le Petit Four a trip to Paris in a bakery box.”
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