Lilly Parisey (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Ever wonder what it takes to make a baguette or croissant, or why the ones made in Montreal are just so much better than pretty much any baked around here or beyond? It’s in the technique and the materials; that’s what two Paul Smith’s College culinary arts students are finding out this summer. They are both working at the Frenchman’s Bakery in Keene Valley.

Last year, Mathieu Fialon, who grew up in Bordeaux, France, took a leap of faith and followed a lifelong dream of opening a bakery, which he did in Keene Valley. While he had a successful career in software, he fondly remembered growing up in a region with a rich culinary tradition. He fell in love with cooking while in college, a passion that he brought with him to the United States, where he and his wife raised their three children in New Jersey. All the while, Fialon cooked and took courses led by a French chef, toward learning skills required to become a professional chef.

During the COVID, Fialon received an invitation to cook at Baxter Mountain Tavern, and while there, he discovered an ideal location for a bakery. He immediately apprenticed at a bakery in New Jersey and began searching for all the specialty equipment needed for a French bakery. Last year’s intended opening for Memorial Day didn’t come to fruition until late summer, but when it did, word of mouth spread like prairie grass on fire.

Initially, Fialon’s bakery was open only on weekends, but his desire, along with that of the public, was for longer hours, more days, and a wider range of products. Fialon knew he needed help, people with a passion for the culinary arts. His search led him to Paul Smith’s College, which offered degrees in baking as part of its culinary arts program.

Anni Woods, a Paul Smith’s culinary arts student who will be going into her senior year, was one of two who accepted Fialon’s request for summer interns. Woods’ dream is to own a sustainable farm-to-table restaurant and bakery with a focus on baking. She enrolled at Paul Smith’s because she was drawn to the Adirondack region, which is renowned for its growing number of sustainable and artisanal farms and farmers’ markets that focus on farm-to-table practices.

Anni Woods (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“My major at Paul Smith’s is service management and baking and pastries,” said Woods. “I focus on the service management side of the business, so I take a lot of business, financial management, and marketing classes. I also take baking classes that feature different skill levels and techniques. Some are on how to do things, and others are on working with different flavors and presentation.”

Working at the Frenchman’s Bakery, Woods has learned that French baking is very technical and focused on procedure, while American baking is more freeform. In America, you might start with a basic muffin mix and add the desired elements, whereas in French baking, every step is meticulously planned, and the recipes are very precise. In French baking, you must follow a very strict procedure to achieve the traditional product you desire.

“I think working here has helped me develop skills I wouldn’t have gotten from Paul Smith’s, just because their program is more broadly focused. When we made our laminated doughs, we used different techniques throughout the week. We made French, Italian and other laminated doughs. While we learned the basics, we didn’t learn how to master them. Being here and learning how to make laminated doughs constantly has enabled me to develop skill sets that I can apply to a variety of projects.”

“We use a lot of high-quality products here, which makes the whole process much easier,” said Woods. “A lot of the tools and products we use, like butter, for example, are from France. To make a proper croissant, you can’t use regular butter because it tends to shatter. Having products from the food that we are making has proved to be very beneficial to the outcome of the product.”

Woods said working at the Frenchman’s bakery is a lot of fun and a great learning experience; she encourages other culinary students to sign up for next year as a way to deepen their baking and restaurant management skills in a real-life situation.

Mathieu Fialon (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Lilly Parisey is a baking and pastries major going into her sophomore year at Paul Smith’s. Parisey was attracted to working at the bakery because it offered housing, decent pay, and, most importantly, a real-life experience of cooking high-end pastries for public consumption.

“I would like to be a head pastry chef,” said Parisey. “I don’t want to own a bakery or restaurant, so it’s nice to get the experience of working in a pastry shop. I’ve learned a lot about laminations, tarts, efficiencies and French-style baking. At school, we learn a little bit about everything, but here we are in a niche area of breads, croissants, quiche and tart-style pastries.”

‘While I like both American and French baking, I learn more towards the French that we do here,” said Parisey. “Our breads are great, the croissants are amazing, but unfortunately, I am allergic to almonds, so I cannot eat many of our pastries, but our customers love them. I love working with Mathieu. It’s so much fun.”

Owner and chef Mathieu Fialon is enjoying having the Paul Smith’s students and hopes the relationship will continue.

“The students are great, and as they are culinary students, they come with a range of skills,” said Fialon. “Anni, as an example, knows a lot about hygiene procedures. Just as they learn from me, I learn from them, which is great. I teach them how to work in a French kitchen, which is not how to make one cake, but how to make one hundred cakes as fast as you can. They are smart kids, and they are motivated.”

Fialon said his biggest challenge was teaching them how to flick flour, whether to dust the bread or the pastry board, a common technique in France but not in the U.S. The outcome of this collaboration between Fialon and the Paul Smith’s students is satisfied customers.

“I patronize the Frenchman’s Bakery because it has delicious pastries and quiches,” said Taylor Hay. “They are the two things we spend the most time consuming. The bakery is a wonderful addition to the community.”

“While I love a croissant and a coffee, what I love most are their sandwiches,” said Muriel Luderowski, who grew up in Belgium. “They are so simple, they are the way sandwiches should be, and I don’t have to open my mouth so very wide to eat them.”

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(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley and has been writing his column for the Lake Placid News since 2005.)