Victoria Effantin & Cécile Khayat - Bread, bread redemption

Displayed on the wall of the office they share on the first floor of the shop in the Rue du Château d'Eau, the list of Mamiche’s seasonal recipes punctuates the daily life of Victoria Effantin and Cécile Khayat. An ephemeris where pastries compete with brioches and sourdough bread. For Christmas, it’s a newcomer who landed from Italy, the pandoro. "Usually, the products run for a period of about two months, but there we only have three weeks," explains Victoria. “To make sure we were ready, we did tests every week for six months with our pastry chef Julia Collard. Each new creation is inevitably born of a common desire. It’s always a question of will and it often starts with a stroke of madness...". Pinned to the annual table, the sketch of the pandoro, scribbled one evening at Barr’s in Copenhagen on a medical prescription, confirms in silence the joyful process that animates the two companions. A duo that exudes generosity and sincerity. "Whatever the recipe, whether it is for breads, pastries or sandwiches, we always deliver our own version," continues Cécile. 'Without playing the false originality at all costs but by remaining ourselves. We are both in love with the products and we want to please people. This pushes us to go very far. Sometimes almost too much. For the chocolate pandoro, we had a first version with chocolate chips. And then Victoria told herself that it would be even better to dip it completely in chocolate. It complicates everything but we did it. Because it’s good!”

Soft touch

No need to go and tickle them about the ancient and the modern, Cécile and Victoria see no paradox in it. Since the opening of the first Mamiche sales point in 2017, on the side of the Anvers metro station in the foothills of Montmartre, their message has from the start been as transparent as their working methods. Homemade, raw ingredients and unadulterated craftsmanship. CAP in the pocket – of pastry for one and bakery for the other - their beginnings have laid the foundations for a voluntarily benevolent business management, as Cécile points out: "Mamiche currently employs 60 people for 47 full-time equivalents. Our role has obviously evolved. We were already business leaders and here we are responsible for human resources. So we do everything not to forget that all this was built thanks to a team, with people who get up at three o'clock in the morning and who are passionate about their job. We want to prove that one can grow by maintaining one’s principles and by maintaining decent working conditions, while preserving the well-being of all". "This also applies to our relationship with customers, "adds Victoria. "Eight years ago, we still had to do some education. Explain the absence of strawberry pies in winter or why, after a certain time, some items were no longer available—when one does not freeze and is offered only homemade production is not unlimited. Today the clients understand the approach and even thank us often for having somehow revived lost tastes. Our pharmacist neighbor gave us the most beautiful compliment the other day by telling us that our apple pie reminded his of his grandmother’s".

Baguette social club

After the first opening in 2017 and then that of rue du Château d'Eau, a Mamiche caterer was born in 2023. No question of launching an all-out expansion campaign or offering franchises. Organic development and local anchoring are essential principles for the two partners, who confess to wanting to be part of a long term story. "I would like Mamiche to become a kind of institution," confirms Cécile. That in 20 years people still come to us for the same reasons and that we have retained the same values. We also want to remain accessible. Despite the fluctuations in raw material prices, and the sharp increase in energy and labor costs, we have not increased the price of our baguette. It is still one euro away. We are losing financially, but the bakery also has a social role and we want to play it fully."

Fermented Future

Key of a certain idea of French gastronomy, the bakery has internationalized and deeply transformed in a few years. A trend amplified by social networks — constantly in search of the "best croissant and the perfect éclair"—which has given rise to two disruptive phenomena that Cécile and Victoria experience on a daily basis, as detailed by the latter: “We see the appearance of copies of ‘home-made” bakeries or even authentic ‘industrial products’. It saddens us obviously. I understand the needs of the chains and the necessities of large-scale production, the lack of transparency shocks me nonetheless. We are fortunate, on our side, to be able to work with suppliers who respect our convictions. We work with Transgourmet for certain selected ingredients, always in an immense mutual respect and in total respect of our principles. Another scourge — the word is weak according to Victoria and Cécile—online reviews, notably on Google. Having become the norm, they are often based on feelings far removed from reality, without any knowledge of the bakery profession. "Everyone is a culinary journalist," continues Cécile. "We see some grotesque comments coming up and the question comes back: why not talk to us about it directly in the store? The negativity that is expressed in this way ends up affecting us. Fortunately, we also receive words of love—literally — from some customers who set us straight". At the snack time, the first fans are now the children of Cécile and Victoria, both young mothers. The next generation of turners is on the way and the puff pastry has better watch out.

Mamiche 32 rue du Château d’Eau, 75010 Paris