Le Petit Marais - more than just a French bakery
Airy pain au chocolat, cinnamon cruffins, spicy filled croissants. The choice at le Petit Marais near Altstetten station is not easy, because you would love to try everything. What looks like a classic French bakery at first glance quickly turns out to be more: the coffee is too good and the selection too wide. Yes, the pain au chocolat is prominently displayed on the logo and is something of a figurehead. But they also bake (perhaps the best?) banana bread in town and, in addition to coffee, there's everything from matcha latte to coconut water. I met up with founder Linda Seidemann for a coffee.
How would you describe your concept?
French inspired, with the idea of injecting a little momentum into the industry! The bakery industry is not doing well at the moment, many businesses are closing down. I was inspired by a place where the opposite is the case and wanted to bring these impulses into Swiss production. The idea was not to open a completely authentic French bakery, but to look at what we have, what is good, what could be done a little differently?
If you're talking about France, is the industry there completely different from Switzerland?
Yes, France is just one example among others. Personally, I really like the "Le Marais" district in Paris, with all the bakeries and patisseries. The people there never seem to run out of ideas. They are always questioning their own products. I think we should do that much more: question our own products. What else could be done differently, what else could be exciting? I have the feeling that some products in Switzerland have not changed in the last hundred years. In my opinion, that's one of the reasons why the industry has gone downhill in recent years. You can also see it now in the many new producers who are rethinking.
What are your highlights on the menu?
Our flagship is certainly the pain au chocolat, which is also on the logo. But I think it's great that we work seasonally and always have new highlights. That's exactly why it remains exciting.
Is it clear to you that Le Petit Marais will always be French-inspired?
We also have products that are inspired by other places. We also have a very multicultural team. Just like the district Le Marais in Paris, which is also very culturally mixed. This "clash of cultures" is what makes it special. That's why I don't rule out other influences at all. My right-hand woman, Jessica, also has a lot of contributed to product development. She is Italian, for example. So everything is really mixed.
Have you ever worked in France yourself?
No, but I have been there many times and have also explored some regions by car. I myself did an EFZ apprenticeship in a traditional confectionery in Switzerland. They no longer exist (laughs).
How do you experience the combination with specialty coffee in the bakery? It hasn't really arrived in Swiss bakeries yet.
My brother is somewhat to blame for that. He got me hooked on coffee. He lived in Cape Town for a long time and the specialty coffee culture is much bigger there. I didn't even enjoy drinking coffee that much before. Until I tried specialty coffee there for the first time and thought "wow, that's something completely different, I want to have that too". That's how my passion for coffee was born and I knew I wanted to combine the two. For example, we also have a South African-inspired product in our range: a pulled pork pie with mango chutney.
... another classic example of cultural fusion!
Yes, exactly!
How do your customers actually react to the coffee and your range? Do you appeal to the public of a traditional bakery at all?
I think we have the right location! The people who live here appreciate the fact that we offer a different product. I think other people don't even come in. We also have a very different clientele to the other businesses in the area. It's very mixed, we also have a lot of families.
What about fruity coffee? My parents, for example, don't like it at all.
Yes, that often happens. Some people find these roasts terrible and even return the coffee! Our standard coffee is rather fruity, we don't have a "classic" dark roast like most cafés. On the other hand, our best-selling product alongside the pain au chocolat is precisely this coffee and many people come to us specifically for it. If I notice in conversation that someone might be expecting something different, I like to point out that the coffee is deliberately very fruity. But that's also why many people come to us, because they can't find this type of coffee anywhere else. I think that's cool!
You came across Atelier Agave yourself some time ago and bought tableware from us. What appealed to you in particular?
On the one hand, it was important to me to work with a local company. On the other hand, the fact that craftsmanship also plays an important role appealed to me. Our products in the bakery are also made by hand and your tableware fits in perfectly with this. Atelier Agave 's somewhat larger production also allows us to replace things from time to time. Of course, things break from time to time in everyday catering. It's also important how the pastries are presented: You don't want to eat your pain au chocolat from a boring plate!
What do you think about the colors?
The neutral colors suit us perfectly and bring the products to the fore. That's important to me. The colors are neutral, but not boring. The fine details in the glaze make all the difference.
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The pastries from Le Petit Marais are not only available in Altstetten, but also in various cafés throughout the city of Zurich. At the bakery location, Linda and her team use ourSerra" andMidnight Grey" tableware series. The small plates are used for serving pastries and the cappuccino and latte cups for preparing coffee drinks.
Le Petit Marais
Hohlstrasse 502
8048 Zurich
