Thursday, December 03, 2009, 11:08 AM
Food and Drink
By Kirsten Ott

Bakeshop is open

Oh, sweet heaven. Bakeshop, the brainchild of Chef Jonathan St. Hilaire, is officially open for business.

Open: Tuesday – Sunday 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Closed Monday

Suite C, ATL, 30308

404-892-9322

At this working bakery housed in an industrial farmhouse, you can expect an array of breads, croissants, cakes, quiches, sandwiches, salads and brewed coffees in true European style—baking batches throughout the day for both wholesale and retail offerings.

From the press release:

Bakery:

Bakeshop’s working bakery offers retail and wholesale options for the city of Atlanta. Work begins daily at 4:00am and smells surround the block tempting passersby. Customers can indulge in a wide spectrum of pastries, breads and savory options as unique as St. Hilaire’s imagination. Daily options are displayed on French bread racks down the middle of the bakery. Familiar morning pastries such as savory and sweet scones, croissants and danishes appear regularly. Almond croissants, milk chocolate banana croissants, raisin danishes and pineapple braided danishes, feature classic twists. A line of breads, such as bacon and beer, will be offered seasonally. Bakeshop bread comes out of the oven fresh by 2pm and is available in full or half loaves so you can enjoy fresh bread for dinner and great toast for breakfast. If you can’t get to Bakeshop, you can enjoy Bakeshop’s offerings at some of Atlanta’s top outlets such as CRAFT, The Four Seasons, La Grotta, Hotel Palomar and all of Concentrics Restaurants’ concepts, to name a few.

Patisserie:

Bakeshop’s shelves are stocked full with housemade tarts, cakes, cookies, sorbets and ice creams. Options will change seasonally and will highlight elevated classic combinations. Cakes, such as the Vanilla and Olive Oil Cake with Crème Brulee and a White Chocolate Mousse, highlight classic flavor profiles while housemade bars, such as the Oatmeal Cranberry and Peanut Butter Bar, and cookies, such as the Chocolate Espresso Cookie Sandwich, satisfy any sweet tooth.  A dessert bar is slated for 2010.

Café

Bakeshop offers housemade soups, salads and sandwiches made fresh daily. Hearty breakfast items, such as Fried Egg with BBQ Pork and Cheddar Ciabatta, abound. Goat Cheese, Avocado, Celery, Walnut Pesto, Watercress on Whole Wheat and other ready-made sandwiches on handspun breads highlight classic flavor combinations with seasonal ingredient pairings. Fresh chopped salads such as Chopped Mozzarella, Salami, Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Iceberg, Radicchio, Green Olive and Pepperocini Vinaigrette, offer fresh alternatives for lunchtime appetites. A variety of specialty coffees, espresso, and cappuccino are available to accompany any dish. Home delivery service will launch in 2010.

Décor

The scene inside Bakeshop is as natural as the ingredients found in its food. Diners enter through floor to ceiling glass doors and are immediately transported to true neighborhood working bakery. White subway tiles line the right and back walls where commercial production occurs. On the left side, ten foot long recycled wooden tongue and groove dining tables sit amid walls lined with salvaged ponderossa western pine. Down the middle diners see French bread racks, wooden butcher blocks on medal legs displaying cake stands filled with goods and dunnage scaffolding which houses pounds of flour and other raw ingredients. Beech wood topped counters line the entrance for in and out service. Concrete blocks painted a silver fox hue frame the ceiling and bring this rustic, yet urban, space together.

The Chef

Classically trained at the French Culinary Institute, St. Hilaire began perfecting his pastry technique through various stints in New York City’s finest restaurants including Terrance Brennan’s Picholine, Payard’s Patisserie and Bistro, Bouley Bakery and Danny Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park. Further south, in Atlanta, Hilaire worked in award winning kitchens such as 1848 House, Canoe, Spice, The Four Seasons Hotel, Executive Chef of the Westeye Group, and as Executive Pastry chef at Woodfire Grill. St. Hilaire was recently selected to be on the advisory board for Le Cordon Bleu, a worldwide leader in gastronomy, hospitality and management. In 2000, St. Hilaire won the Gold Medal in the “Southern Pastry Classic” and shortly thereafter received the critics award as one of the best new chefs in the area, earning him the title of ”Best New American Chef in Atlanta” from Bon Appétit magazine in 2002.  That same year, Atlanta magazine also recognized him for the city’s “Best Chocolate Dessert.” 

With the opening of Bakeshop, Jonathan St. Hilaire is now eager to use his quality creations to bring breads and pastries to the same standard of main courses found in Atlanta’s fine restaurants as well as display his impeccable eye to the savory side of things.