Town and Fork’s very first interview and it has to be with owner, Carine Vigy, of La Baguette! I have spent many a chilly morning in this French bakery enjoying a croissant and coffee and reading A Moveable Feast, Hemingway’s memoir of his time in France.
All the while I am embraced by the magic of this place, the softly played French music, the round, intimate wooden tables interspersed with iron garden tables. On the mantle of the faux brick fireplace, the collection of vintage aluminum lunchboxes — my favorite is the yellow one with an illustration of a little girl caught in a teasing wind, her umbrella giving out. The long wooden baguette molds hung on the walls.
Oh I love this place! The quiches, the tarts, the made-to-order sweet crepes on Mondays, pain au chocolat, croissants and fresh bread– all made daily by Carine’s husband and love of 18 years.
Olivier trained for four years on the west side of Paris to become a Boulanger. He is certainly a bread-baking gift to Madison and a culinary artist when it comes to pastry!
Madame Carine’s main role is to keep the front and back of the house running smoothly. From early morning until late evening six days a week she handles the accounting and the ordering. And, perhaps most importantly, it is she who maintains the warm and friendly atmosphere of La Baguette. Be sure, once you’ve step inside, you will feel instantly transported –from off the busy road of Mineral Point to a quiet café in Paris the moment Carine greets you cheerfully,
Bon Jour!
Carine was raised in the Seine et Marne neighborhood, an east side suburb of Paris where the rivers Seine and Marne meet. Her mother is an Italian-American native of Wisconsin, her father, a Frenchman. She was raised in France on Italian food and her fondest childhood memories in the kitchen involve making jam out of the mirabelle fruit from trees in her backyard.
Carine’s prized possession is a torn and tattered French cookbook her French grandmother gave her. She credits her mother-in-law, however, for teaching her how to cook French and it is her mother-in-law who does most of the cooking for her at home. Having her in-laws live with them is what helps Olivier and Carine be so successful at what they do.
The ingredients the Vigy family keeps at home are: mustard, shallots, garlic and herbs de Provence, as well as harissa, the secret ingredient her mother-in-law uses to flavor her soups and sauces — a spice she picked up in her travels to Morocco.
What is on Madame Carine’s bucket list?
Oh to travel, she says in a dreamy voice and I can tell she is somewhere far away from our little table.
Tahiti, Japan, Finland, Norway, South America….
And so on Sundays what does this full-time mom and bakery owner do with her one day off?
Family, she says gently.
Then with a small laugh, I want to sleep a little bit, but I don’t want to sleep and miss out!
Be sure to stop in soon on one of these crisp autumn days for La Baguette’s Pumpkin Tart with Crème de Chantilly Stars!
Read more about La Baguette’s specials on their Facebook page.
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