Maison Villate in Falmouth, Mass.; Woods Hole, Mass.

Boris Villate, Chef/Owner

Origins

I was born in Alsace-Lorraine, and then I grew up in the Loire Valley. I did my apprenticeship as a baker in the countryside, in a smaller bakery. I earned two bakery diplomas, and then I got a pastry diploma. After four years of school, I moved to Paris to work for Eric Kaiser for six years. In 2002, Kaiser made a partnership with Alain Ducasse for a year. I started as a baker, then I became a chef, and then I was doing some worldwide openings for him. I did openings in Japan, in Greece, I was traveling a little bit everywhere to set up new bakeries.

The pastry chef from Ducasse was Frédéric Robert. We worked together. He told me the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas was looking for a baker, so he proposed I come over in 2005, since he would be the pastry chef. I was 25, so I took the challenge. We were supplying 20 restaurants. It was good, but I needed to move on, to have my own shop, so in 2010 I moved down to the Cape. I opened first with a partner, but it didn’t work out, so in October, 2012 I decided to do my own venture in Falmouth. Right away, we were busy. It’s been 13 years. And last year I opened a second location, right next to the ferry to go to Martha’s Vineyard. Everybody from Martha’s Vineyard always comes inland, so we have a good smaller version of what we have on Main Street. I like New England because you have four seasons, so you can play with more ingredients and do something different for each holiday.

Company Mission

I want it to feel like a bakery in France. As you walk in, you have an array of pastries, a bread display, a croissant display. We have a 30-foot display case for savory and pastry, and we are facing the customers. In the background of the wall, you have all the bread laying down against the wall. We don’t do a table service; on the left side we have a sit-down area for consumers where they can enjoy as they pick their items. We have roughly 25 seats on the inside with a high-top table.

Signature Products

I like the classics. I really like a good classic croissant or a good baguette. I don’t want to make something really visual that doesn’t have as much of a taste. On the pastry side, I like a good classic tart or a good eclair. I like to remain true to the main ingredients, what I’ve been trained on, versus a fancy appearance. it’s all about the products, the quality of the ingredients. We do make some specialty items. One of them I really like is the panettone. My Baker {Valentin Pellat] who has been with me for over 11 years now, has also been perfecting his panettone, and I sent him to Italy to do some classes. During the holidays, we always try to create a new one and then we go back to the classic one. Customers fall in love with that.

We serve a variety of drinks, based on the seasons. My wife [Valeria] changes them every month or so. It’s not like Starbucks, where you add 20 different kinds of syrup; we always try to do something special for every single holiday. We make a peppermint cream latte. We do a gingerbread nugget latte. And then we make what we call a Mrs. Claus Mulled Cherry Cider. We make a chocolate cherry iced mocha.

Equipment ‘Must-Haves’

All my equipment, or at least 80 percent, is coming from Europe. I like to have good tools. The deck oven is the main piece. We need the retarder, so we can rise the bread with slow fermentation. Then we have the mixer, the convection oven and the sheeter. I will get new equipment if it makes the work better.

Production Tip

Take the time to do it right. To make a good product, you take time. Every day is a different day. We have to base our ingredients and preparation on the temperature. The bread will react in a different way every day. If there’s a lot of humidity outside, you will bake and dry the bread longer. If it’s cold, you will have a longer fermentation. You will have to adjust your temperature in the proofing process. The main thing is to work as a team. Communicate. Give your point of view. If we have a new product, what does each person think about it? In both locations, we have 30 employees and more over the full season.

Secrets of Success

Really work with one another and be respectful of one another. Everybody has to work together. I cannot do it by myself without my team. I’m lucky I have some people who’ve been with me for years because we get along so well. I can rely on them. There is more turnover in the front of the house, but production is a passion, so if people are in a good place, more of them will stay.

Future Plans

We opened a second location in June [of 2024]. I’m always looking to expand, but I want to do it the right way. I don’t want to mass produce and not be happy about what I’m doing. It took me a long time to open the second location.

I did cities for many years: Paris, Las Vegas. As I get older, I like the community feel here. I want to see some regular consumers. I have a son, so having to raise a kid in a city is not my thing. I don’t want to go live in a tower on the sixth floor. I want to have a regular lifestyle with my wife where we have room. We’re at the beginning of the Cape, one hour from Boston, so it’s easy to fly to Europe when we want.

For more info, visit www.instagram.com/maisonvillatte

(This article appeared in the Winter 30 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)