The FrenchWay Café and Bakery
The French way of life is about taking time to appreciate your food and the people around you – and for shopkeep Larissa Webster it is at the heart of her business. Since 2008, Larissa and her team have been serving fresh, flavourful, and from-scratch meals from behind the counter at The FrenchWay Café and Bakery.
Q: What inspired the creation of The Frenchway Café and Bakery?
A: Ten years ago, when I and my partner Olivier Fortat moved back from France, we started a small place on Academy. We sat on our back deck one day thinking about what we would call the place. People think it’s named Frenchway because of the food, but it’s about the whole thing. It’s about fresh whenever possible, scratch-based, local products, serving breakfast all day. When we lived in Paris, we’d go to little cafes and at three in the afternoon if you wanted breakfast, you could have breakfast. The French way is you take your time, you enjoy your food and you visit. It’s about the experience of having a meal together.
In 2011, I came to the current location on Lilac and have been doing it on my own with my wonderful staff. Olivier was the chef behind FrenchWay. Since Olivier left the business, I’ve been fortunate to find people to do the baking and cooking and keep the same style. Over the years I’ve brought pastry chefs from France. Right now, Laura Gurbhoo does all the French pastries. Natalie Turenne, who started off with me as a cook, does the Canadian baking. Ashley Hebel is our cook and kitchen manager. Between the three of them, they keep that passion going in the kitchen.
Q: What is the Frenchway philosophy to food preparation?
A: Scratch-based. We make everything in-house, our soup stocks, our bread, our dough. We roast all of our meats here. The pastries are about pulling out individual flavours. You want to taste the chocolate ganache lining the fruit tarts and the hint of vanilla in the pastry cream.
Q: Do you have any signature dishes?
A: Our fruit tarts, lemon meringue, the Mille-Feuille and the macarons. The turkey brie baquette has been on the menu since the beginning.
Q: What’s next for Frenchway Cafe?
A: We’re a breakfast and lunch place. Next is dinner club, a monthly event with a set menu. I’m involved in two organizations I do events for. I’ve been part of the Stone Soap event for Child Nutrition Council since its inception. I’ve hosted dinners here for Dreams Take Flight and am involved in organizing their galas. I’ve hosted other fundraisers and private events. Ashley said if we can do all these events, we should start once-a-month dinners. I’m hoping to try the first one at the end of April.
All photos by Kristhine Guerrero
