Christophe Vasseur

The Path

A change of trade can sharpen a baker’s eye for material, finish, and presentation. Before the bench, Christophe Vasseur worked in the fashion and silk trade, including silk-scarf marketing in Asia, then entered bread through a baker apprenticeship in Paris, France. The Paris bakery Du Pain et des Idées has been the fixed point of the work since 2002, with Christophe Vasseur as creator, founder and baker. La Table extends the same professional orbit through his role as owner / restaurateur.

The Work Today

Named bread gives a bakery’s practice a public reference point. Pain des Amis is one of the works associated with Christophe Vasseur and Du Pain et des Idées.

Signature

Christophe's signature breads include Bread of Friends, Chocolate-Pistachio Escargot, and chocolate-pistachio swirl.

In Their Words “I aim to show that this profession is amongst the most beautiful in the world, allowing for those who have mastered its secrets to give a simple yet intense happiness with something as simple as a piece of bread.” “I wanted to work with my hands, create something from start to finish with just my hands and imagination.”

Acclaim

Recognition in this case attaches to specific bakery work rather than to abstraction: Pain des Amis, Chocolate-Pistachio Escargot as the signature dish of Du Pain et des Idées, and the continuing role of Christophe Vasseur as owner and baker of the Paris bakery. The craft is framed in his own terms as a profession built on mastery, service, and a modest object: “I aim to show that this profession is amongst the most beautiful in the world, allowing for those who have mastered its secrets to give a simple yet intense happiness with something as simple as a piece of bread.” Within the given facts, the relevant measure is direct: bread made by hand, under the discipline of fermentation and touch.