Petitgrain Boulangerie in Santa Monica, CA.

Clemence de Lutz, Chef-Owner

Origins

I was born in Paris and I lived there until I was seven when my family moved to the U.S. A couple of years later my grandparents opened a little auberge with a restaurant and bar in the southeastern part of France. They were in St. Tropez. We’re not from the fancy part of St. Tropez. I spent summers helping my grandparents at their restaurant making desserts and being a pest in the kitchen until I was 16. I never trained formally. I grew up in a restaurant family. I think that cadence never really leaves you. It becomes part of your DNA.

I went to film school back on the East Coast. I moved out here in 1998 and got a desk job at the studio. Anyone who ultimately works in a kitchen has a certain amount of anxiety sitting for too long. I started a cookie business from my desk, collecting orders all week and arranging pickups from my cubicle on Fridays. I quit my job, began renting a commercial kitchen in Venice. I was a sort of ghost pastry chef for some restaurants. I would make individual desserts. I also did mail-order brownies and cookies. I started teaching cooking lessons out of that commercial kitchen and ended up opening up a cooking school in Santa Monica back in 2011. At the same time, I did consulting in the U.S. and I did a few projects abroad. I helped restaurants develop dessert menus, choose their equipment, train staff, develop formulas, things like that.

About a year and a half ago, I got a call from a friend who said that this place was available. It was pretty turnkey and since I knew permits, fees and so on, I knew it was all up to code. All I needed to do was change the name. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I’m grateful to grow up in an environment where taking risks feels normal because there is a safety net there for you.

Company Mission

Be a part of the community. I don’t see a difference between who you are as a business owner and as a person. I have been told my entire career: Don’t be too nice. Everyone will step all over you. Be a boss. I’ve spent my whole career trying to dispel this. I believe in radical generosity. I never feel I’m losing out. From the moment you walk in the door, we have a really specific way of training people here. We have 348 tickets a day on average, but everyone who walks in gets greeted with a hello. As a business owner, you need to express yourself the same as you would with your family because of accountability. We’re not islands here; we’re part of a community.

We donate a dollar this month for every potato Danish this month to Hollywood Food coalition. They gave us two cases of potatoes for the month. When you work in food, you are intrinsically connected to your community because you’re nourishing them. The people who are at the highest risk in the community because of what is happening right now are the people who are making your food. In this country that has a very consumer-driven economy, it’s important to understand that every purchase you make is a vote. Every time we look past a salad dressing that says shake well before serving and instead choose the one that looks homogenous, we’re voting for xanthan gum. We’re voting for food that’s heavily subsidized.

I grew up in the food business. I’ve raised three kids in L.A. on under $70,000 a year and I almost never shopped at grocery stores or bought packaged foods. I wanted to raise my kids in that kind of environment where you are accountable to the people around you. You know the person who grows your chard and you ask them to grow more as your business grows.

Every vote has an impact. If you buy a tomato at Walmart, you’re paying for poorly treated workers, for unsustainable soil conditions. You’re choosing modern indentured servitude when you’re buying cheap tomatoes. I say the same things about eggs, about flour.

Signature Products

My favorite depends on the time of day. I start at one in the morning. And I eat a pack of these cookies every morning as I’m shaping. Around four in the morning, I’ll have chocolate to snack on cause I’m shaping the pain au chocolate at 4. At 8:30 am, the pain au raisins come out. We soak the raisins in rum for two weeks. We get these fat raisins from a farmer at the market. We do a sausage roll. That comes out around 10:30, so it depends on the time of day. As for customer favorites, we sell more plain croissants than any other items. But it depends on the season. People get excited when our Eggplant Danish comes out. We do a squash and cilantro and chili one. Anytime something looks new and seasonal, people get excited.

We use three whole grains in our croissant. Spelt is my favorite grain to work with because of its accessibility and flavor profile. In our scones and pastries, we try to use 30 to 40 percent whole grains. Our Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies are addictive. When I’m going to Glendale on the train, it’s kind of a long ride, so I always bring them. I like to have croissants come out every hour. We use three batons in our chocolate croissants. We stagger them with cinnamon rolls and Cardamom Scrolls with seasonal jam. We make ten pan loaves a day.

Equipment ‘Must-Haves’

Our dough sheeter, because I had surgery on my arm before opening from years of teaching hand lamination. There’s no way I could operate this business without a dough sheeter. And a really good bicycle cutter. When one breaks down, it’s infuriating, so I splurge and spend $150 for a good one.

Production Tip

Be intuitive. All the formulas in the world will not get you to understand why your croissant is proofing more slowly in January than in June. When a piece of equipment breaks down like a proofer, you better know how to make a proofer out of a covered speed rack.

Secrets of Success

Just be kind, honestly. Kindness leads to better decision making, happier employees, mutual respect between staff and employees.

When I’m hiring, the two qualities I look for are kindness and hustle. I do not care if you went to culinary school or not. I don’t need people who see the veneer of working in food; I need people who understand the kind of energy it takes to produce something. A lot of people come in and say, “Oh, I work in tech, but I really love baking.” I have to remind people this is how we pay our rent; it’s not a hobby. Take some cooking classes and also honor the fact that when people are working here, they’re working to feed their families. We’re an open kitchen. Anybody can come in and observe. Open book. Open kitchen. I will tell you everything. But we will never give up hours for someone who needs to work.

Everybody here makes the same wage. Tip-sharing is spread evenly. I take a 24-hour block and they split evenly. Everyone in the front of the house has to work a shift in the back of the house and vice versa. Everyone understands the value we place on the products and how we treat customers. Everyone understands how we value our staff.

Future Plans

I have no plans to take products to market. I’m at max capacity right now. Since I grew up in France, I have a bit of an anti-capitalist perspective in that I do not want to grow. I’m really committed to staying small. When you start to grow, you need more management. The culture becomes a little different. It becomes about managing a business and crew rather than having personal accountability.

Photos by Alex Scott

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

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