La Barantine opened on Victoria Street about a year ago, with its big sister not far away in Bruntsfield. The owners Celine and Vincent, alongside their skilful staff, have helped make lunchtimes and tea breaks much more exciting for the whole street…oooh macarons!

celine la barantine june 2015 (3)

 

Celine in her Betsy Waistcoat and Laura Shorts in Shetland Grey Donegal - we were both in awe of her modelling skills and salivating at the view of the pastries behind her!

Vincent was too busy creating edible delights to be photographed, but luckily he had time for a wee break to answer our questions with Celine.

1. First things first – what does ‘La Barantine’ mean, and why did you choose this name?

V: Barant was my grandfather’s surname – he was also a baker. He started his own bakery in France in 1938 but had to leave the area because of the war - when he came back it had all been destroyed. He rebuilt in 1946 and the business was passed through the family until 1994 when it was my turn.

So La Barantine isn’t anything specific; I just liked having my grandfather’s name incorporated into it because of the family baking history.

2. We have heard that you come from a family of traditional bakers. When were you first inspired to bake; was it a family activity?

V: Forever! My mother, uncle and grandfather had been baking and creating wonderful things my whole life so it was easy to pick it up. It was always a family activity – and still is! Our son and daughter help us out a few days a week here.

3. Why did you decide to relocate to Scotland? Did you ‘enjoy’ trying to decipher the local Scottish language your customers use?

V: I first visited Scotland in 1996 for a holiday and fell in love with the country. We visited many times after that and it became a dream to move here. In 2012 we got an opportunity to sell my French bakery (which was also called La Barantine) so we sold our car and furniture and moved to Bruntsfield in Edinburgh.

For the first year I worked for another bakery, Breadwinner, until we eventually found the perfect location not far from our flat in Bruntsfield and opened in 2011.

We thought we were good at English when we moved here… but once you add local dialects that proves not to be the case! At first the accents were very hard to understand – but we can tell the difference between them now!

4. If you ever had to jump out of a giant cake (or patisserie) as a surprise, what kind would you choose and why?

C: Croquembouche, because it is fantastic!

celine la barantine june 2015 (2)

5. You opened La Barantine in Bruntsfield 4 years ago, and it’s been almost a year since you opened your second café in our neighbourhood. What do you like the most about Victoria Street?

V: I always thought that Victoria Street was very charming and beautiful, I love all the colours and the way it winds up. It also only has independent business, much like in Bruntsfield. We get much more tourists here and since it’s not so residential we get a bigger mix of people. We were very lucky to find a space here!

6. We all know Scotland is famous for its ‘delightful’ cuisine – square sausage, haggis, deep fried things – do you have a favourite dish?

Full Scottish breakfasts. I really enjoy those. Sometimes fish and chips too.

It was harder to eat out well even 20 years ago, when I first visited, but a lot more places have opened in the last 10 years that serve great Scottish food.

7. France is known for its residents chic fashion choices. What do you think of British fashion and tweed?

V: Tweed is smart and elegant – it has an ageless appeal too so no matter how old (or young!) you are, you will look good.

I grew up with British TV shows such as 'The Avengers' so I had a great view of the fashion here – all sharp suits and bowlers!

8. We recently tried white chocolate and black olive ice cream (from another Grassmarket local, Mary’s Milk Bar) – what odd taste combinations have you tried, or would you be keen to try, in your delicacies?

C: I recently tried dark chocolate with rosemary which was very tasty.

V: I’d like to try a lemon tart infused with basil. [Interviewer was very keen on this and will be hot footing it to the café when Vincent experiments with that combination!]

9. Have you experimented with any traditional British baking, adding your own French twist to the recipe or style to the presentation?

V: I haven’t but I have learned a lot of British recipes from working at Breadwinner, like carrot cake and cheesecake which I really like so maybe one day I will experiment.

10. What is your favourite Scottish word?

V: Slangevar - ‘to your health!’

C: Thistle

 

La Barantine can be found at:

202 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, EH10

and

89 Victoria Street, Edinburgh, EH1