Layers&Swathes Trend Report: Haute Bread
Any edible trend I discuss on here is going to be a favourite of mine.
I started to think about bread after reading an article about a Parisian boulanger, Lionel Poilâne and his daughter Apollonia in this season’s The Gentlewoman. With tidbits such as “a grand plan to conquer the British bread scene” I knew instantly that this is one particular cultural movement I didn’t want to miss out on.
Just to get to the nitty gritty, Apollonia Poilâne is running a bakery which was started by her grandfather and is famed for a chewy sourdough that is sold in large, round 2kg loaves that sell for €8 or more. According to The Gentlewoman, this bread is so fabulous, that there are women in LA & NY (of course) paying $25 to have a single loaf FedExed to them within 24 hours of its removal from the oven.
This then got me thinking about haute bread chains that seem to be popping up all over the place. There is the wonderful Le Pain Quotidien, Paul, Apostrophe, Gail’s – the list goes on. Heck, even December’s Vogue came with a ‘Secret Address Book’ supplement with it’s own bread and bakery sections.
What I want to know is; Who is this marketing genius who put bread back on the map? We’ve all seen the images of skinny French women with their Breton striped tops and a couple of baguettes hanging out of their bicycle baskets but I never assumed that they actually ate any of it.
It’s rare that I encompass trends I discuss on here in to my life but this is one that will require minimal effort.
Bon Appetite everyone..
LouLou de la Falaise (RIP)
fedexing bread, what the dickens? i do like bread though, it’s probably my main food source. cheers what you said about my clothes, nice to hear
Mmm, I love all kind of bread. I’d also noticed how these fashionable places are popping up everywhere, and I really like them,. Makes me feel more European!
I think it’s the anit-carb backlash. No carbs, but we lovethem and make us feel good when we eat them. What’s more primal than bead…beer! So if we make it a fetish and elevate it…you have an excuse to indulge occasionally. I do this as well. I’ve ruined my taste buds by eating really good things so I can pass the mediocre very easily. For me, Tartine in San Fransico is the best! 2nd, La Farine in Oakland. No Fedex needed, but enough distance to keep my waistline safe.