Alice
Floch's French bakery at Fort Kochi is a magnet for French and
European tourists
By
Shevlin Sebastian
On
a recent Sunday, at 'Alice Delices' boulangerie (bakery) at Fort
Kochi, Fanch and Viviane Le Guellec dropped in. They are friends of
Alice Floch from France. “We came to know Alice had started a
bakery in India,” says Viviane. “So we were keen to taste the
items.”
And
they liked what they ate. “It was as good as it was in France,”
says Viviane In fact, the Guellecs are customers of Alice at the
'Paroles de Pain', an organic bakery in Pont-l'Abbé on the west
coast of France. “We buy bread and cakes,” she says. “Sometimes,
my husband, who is retired from government service, helps in bread
deliveries.”
Another
fan is the Paris-based Clarisse Alx. “The best French bakery in
India is in Fort Kochi,” she says.
A
recent customer was Frenchwoman and Mollywood star Paris Laxmi. She
woke up one morning at her home in Vaikom (37 kms from Kochi),
longing for some home food. So she headed to the bakery at Fort
Kochi.
“By
the time I arrived, at 12 noon, my favourite Pain Au Chocolat
(chocolate croissants) was sold out,” says Laxmi. “So I had a
cinnamon cake as well as a fresh lime juice. It was as good as any
bakery in France.”
Alice
first came to Kochi five years ago and fell in love with the place.
“Fort Kochi is a special place, so different from other parts of
Kerala and India,” she says. “It is very quiet, and green. In
Pont-l'Abbé, like in Fort Kochi, we also see a lot of fishermen. So,
there are a lot of similarities.”
Alice
decided to open the bakery in late 2016, during the Kochi Biennale,
because she felt there would be takers since it is the only French
bakery in Fort Kochi. “In fact, from the very beginning, we had a
lot of French and European people visit our bakery,” says Alice.
“But we also get Indians, too.”
To
suit the Indian palate, she has made a special bread which has cashew
nuts, almonds, pistachios and grapes. For certain breads, Alice has
added cinnamon. Apart from this, Alice makes cashew and brownie cakes
as well as lemon pies. She also offers a French-style thali
breakfast. It is priced at Rs 300 and is popular.
“This
breakfast consisted of different types of bread, served with butter
and pineapple jam, as well as a bowl of mixed fruit,” says tourist
R. Ron from Europe. “And, according to my partner, she had the best
coffee on the trip at the Delices.”
The
locals also love her items. During Easter, Alice had bumper sales of
her plum cakes. “Many Malayalis were my customers and said they
liked it,” she says.
To
ensure that all is fresh and crisp, by 7.45 a.m., the time the bakery
opens for its clientele, Alice has to get up at 4 a.m., to start
work. For most of the bread items, she uses a mix of flour, yeast,
salt and water.
But
to make croissants, she has to do it in an air-conditioned kitchen.
“If I try to make it outside, the butter will melt,” she says.
There is a lot of kneading of the dough and the rolling pin is used
several times before the items are put in the large oven which is
located in the garden at the back of the bakery.
“I
love baking,” she says. “But what I enjoy equally is to watch the
reaction of the people when they eat the food that I make. Many a
time, after they eat a croissant a smile breaks out on their faces.”
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