02/14/2017
“Speak low, if you speak love” . . .
We have not spoken much lately, that is true. The reason is simple: we were not sure what to say. Julien & Noé has been going through a lot these past months, from the intense growth of the last Summer to the decision to stop our daily operation to focus on a new business model (frozen pastries) in October. We took that path since we had to face an obvious reality: we were not profitable enough to be able to pay ourselves - in spite of the 400+ pastries a day we were baking/selling. For about 9 months, we worked our ass off (15 hour-days weren't rare) and did not put a penny in our pocket. We did hired employees, acquired some equipment (our forever beloved sheeter!), bought 2 full tanks of organic canola oil – OK, you may think what the heck and YOU'RE RIGHT, that was huge and soft and silky (also insanely expensive!).
We moved from one kitchen to another, worked on umpteenth different schedule (early morning, late night, bright day), lived a normal baker life if one dares to say. We did that without complaining.
Those of you who have worked in the food industry must know what it is, what it takes, the broken back after a day on your feet, the painful 5 am alarm stirring you from a too-short, must-needed recovery, the never-satisfied customers, the mess and the troubles.
You know also how good one feels when being complimented, when every thing goes just fine – no complaint, no problem, no rush, no burnt/wasted pastries. The busy, heady energy of running all over, smiling at your peers, sharing food, juices, practices, dancing on the Mexican music (no wall will ever stop the radio stations). There is nothing like the feeling you're doing the right thing, and you're doing it right. Working in a very special and little corner – vegan and organic French pastries -, we had few reasons to do what we did. What it wasn't about was money. Money is a mean to make things happen, that is to say paying people who do the job, suppliers, etc. Not an ultimate goal (no good entrepreneurs achieve anything great if he/she seeks greed).
What it was, what it still is about, is the possibility to undertake a meaningful and powerful mission, to change people's mentality thanks to a very tiny and ridiculously innocent item: a croissant. An excellent symbol of Frenchness and butterness and non-veganness. And to turn it into a message: everything can be vegan and yet be delicious. That was the purpose of these 9 months.
Often, we find something when we don't seek for it. The very condition to do so, though, is to be in the right mental condition/mindset. In our cases, respectively for Julien, James and Noé, we found some truths on ourselves, discovered a magical place in the world, a dynamic and awesome community of vegan, a totally new culture, the best girlfriends we could ever imagined, we made critically useful connections and friends.
We did that in just 9 months, being foreigners, without capital, completely new to the US, vegan for a few months only, with no experience in baking, with our weird (and sexy) French accent! What we accomplished, we're not sure, probably nothing really spectacular, but still, a little contribution to the unstoppable expansion of veganism and fine cuisine.
None of that would have been possible without [here begins a loooooong list of people] Peter Fikaris and his siblings (The Butcher's Son), Ryan (Black Spring Coffee), Deborah Blum (Citizen Fox), Wilson (Coffeeshop), Matthew, Chef Corey, Perry, Marc (Plant Cafe) Matt, Rebecca, Elliot, Ford, Andrew, Rainbow Grocery, Miyoko, Vegan Republic, Clyde, Caroline Love (Hampton Creek), Tyson, all our loyal customers and fans, our family, etc.
// Sorry for those I forget! \\
What's happening next? we're not sure. Noé had to go back to Paris to complete his Master Degree, James is on the road chasing the beauty a vagabond life of roaring travels allows to capture, and Julien is staying in the stunning Bay Area and going back to his engineering background.
We won't lie telling you J&N is about to go live again, it's not gonna happen soon, maybe it won't happen. But be sure that what we have learned, how we're now shaped, will be determinant in our futures. A million thanks to y'all. Look forward to seeing you again.
Cheers,
Julien, Noé and James.
