Léna and Jules

Jules and Léna opened their bakery, not far from Plat Gousset in Granville, three and a half years ago after a successful career in the cultural sector. Jules, who works as a baker, trained in Paris a few years earlier (at the prestigious FERRANDI school) and learned from Roland Feuillas, in particular, a notable figure in the world of farmhouse bread. It was their love of gastronomy and eating well that led them here.

Jules and Léna’s shop and workshop measures just 30m², yet Jules makes up to 150 kilos of bread every day. The stall is also well-stocked, with no fewer than 10 varieties of bread made from semi-complete flour and sourdough: farmhouse bread, seed bread, nut bread and small spelt. The best-sellers are the petit épeautre and the ‘ pompette ‘, a brioche without eggs or butter, containing olive oil and with a filling that changes with the seasons. Their greatest satisfaction comes from the feedback they get from customers, but also from the fact that they feel justified in offering speciality breads at slightly higher prices than conventional bakeries.

“Receiving compliments and encouragement from our regular and visiting customers is what drives us to create,” says Jules.

The challenges are no small ones for these enthusiasts. Working in a workshop with very little space, with just the two of them, is a daily challenge. Granville is an increasingly attractive seaside resort, with high visitor peaks, and meeting this demand is a real challenge for the bakers at Le Plat Gousset. They’ve noticed that the bakery’s customers are looking for a return to quality, and for recipes that are good for their health. That’s why Léna and Jules offer small spelt, which is easily digestible and contains little gluten. It’s in this direction that they would like to continue their work and perhaps propose some new recipes.

Outside the bakery, Léna and Jules are the parents of two little boys. Jules takes piano lessons, and Léna laughingly calls him “a pianist baker”. They like to recharge their batteries on the beach at the foot of the cliffs, at the end of the Plat Gousset promenade, and sometimes take a bath there in winter. The dunes at Bréville-sur-Mer are another place they go to enjoy the “lunar landscape”. Finally, a sunset on the beach at Saint-Pair-sur-Mer is a moment they really enjoy.

Many thanks to our ambassador Anne-Fanny for writing this article.Thanks also to Eloi de La Monneraye and Arnaud Guillaume for the photos.