KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 – Paris may be an airplane ride away but if you need a classic French bistro fare fix, how about Yeast Bistronomy in Bangsar? “It is a French bistro with casual cuisine and authentic breads made from natural yeast,” explains Christophe Chatron-Michaud who owns the place with his Malaysian-born wife, Lissan Teh.

Chatron-Michaud, 50, is no stranger to the F&B scene having worked as a consultant in Europe and the United States of America developing restaurants for about 28 years. Some of his clients include prestigious names such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Daniel Boulud.

Following stints in New York, Las Vegas mega casinos and the Phillipines, he moved back to Malaysia with his family about two and a half years ago. “It was a give and take situation as my wife had given me 18 years in USA,” he explains.

Subsequently, the couple decided to start Yeast Bistronomy last December sensing an opportunity. “There’s no place like this in Kuala Lumpur and we thought we could do good breads,” he adds. Yeast Bistronomy is the sum of three parts – the bouglangarie or bakery, the bistro and casual bar à vin. “We chose Bangsar as despite its ups and downs, it still has the pull,” he adds.

As bread is very important to them, the couple paired up with master baker Christophe Gros, 42. The baker from Lyon was keen to leave France for greener pastures. “I love my country but I prefer to work here as the French are too lazy to work aand there are a lot of taxes when you open a business there,” he explains.

People flock here for their breads and Danish pastries (left). Nibble on a luscious fruit tart for a sweet treat (right)

His signature leaven is the key to his bread’s magic. The special mix slowly cultivated with French flour and natural fruits throughout time is stored and bred in a controlled environment. “Every baker has their special signature yeast that is a secret,” says Gros. Prior to the opening of the boulangerie, Gros started to build the yeast. “We started the yeast about a month before we opened and it is a living organism that we had to feed constantly to keep it alive and strong,” says Chatron-Michaud.

In addition, Gros uses a special oven brought in from France with lower temperatures to bake bread and the danishes. “When you put the bread inside the oven, the heat envelops the bread and it comes with its own steam function,” explains Gros. According to Chatron-Michaud, local bakeries use cheaper pizza ovens since bread ovens from Germany and France are expensive. “We did not have to compromise with a pizza oven hence the result is different.”

Since they opened last year, some tweaks have been made to the bread in terms of the flour mix. “In the beginning, we used French flour in the bread only but now we use a mix of French and local flours as it got very expensive as the price doubled throughout the time,” says Chatron-Michaud.

Dine at the bar to catch a piece of kitchen action

He strongly believes these changes have not affected his quality, as what is more important is the yeast and using the right oven to bake the breads.

Initially when they first opened, customers more accustomed to the softer breads sold in local and Japanese bakeries, complained that their breads were hard. Moreover the locals preferred eating their bread as a snack. “It is a culture thing, as bread is our starch in Europe and America,” explains Chatron-Michaud.

Yeast sets out to help make suggestions on how their bread can be accompanied with savoury, sweet spreads, cheese, cold cuts or used as sandwiches. “We also use a lot of our breads in our menu like tartines that gives them an interpretation on how it can be used with say an olive tapenade with tomato and basil,” he says.

In the morning, expect crowds of people jostling into this cozy space for their breakfast

This has worked to their advantage and customers return for the breads with some coming from as far as Mont Kiara or the city centre. Following a big batch of breads that comes out from the oven in the morning, the breads are baked throughout the day to keep it fresh. “We also want to keep the aroma inside the room to have the freshly baked bread or croissant,” he explains. Their most popular breads are the classic French long thin baguettes and a multi-grain bread.

Salmon Amandine

For the bistro’s food offerings, Chatron-Michaud was determined to change the public’s perception about French food by taking a toned down approach. “French food is perceived as you need to go to a hotel, reserved for special occasions and expensive. The food is hearty and not so hand manipulated with big individual portions that can be shared depending on the appetite.”

Even the vibe is a casual one at the cosy 35-seater space. In the mornings, people crowd in the place for breakfast meet-ups and pastries, while lunch is casual fare of quiche or tartines (open faced sandwiches). The dinner menu follows a tried and tested bistro formula such as boeuf bourguignon, foie gras de canard and souffle. Dining is kept casual with a choice of bar-counter dining with the kitchen action as a side show or bumping shoulders in the petite dining space.

The kitchen is headed by the rosy cheeked Clara Champonnois, 27, whose hearty French fare has won her many fans. Champonnois, who started cooking since she was 17, had worked in France, Scotland, Monaco and New York including the prestigious kitchens of the iconic Alain Ducasse in Paris and one-Michelin star Dole with chef Romuald Fassenet.

Seared duck breast with crushed Jerusalem artichokes, wild mushrooms and duck jus

Even though the food she cooks is the same hearty fare that Champonnoiss grew up with, her big challenge is the produce in Malaysia like the duck or chicken. “My biggest problem is the produce as it is very different from what I used to cook in France and I need to adapt and try it a few times since it does not react the same way here,” she explains. Despite its challenges, Champonnoiss is happy to be working in Asia for the first time. “I learn a lot about produce, the food, culture of the place and how to run a team in an executive chef position.”

Since they opened, Yeast has garnered their regulars who crowd the small homely bistro. Chatron-Michaud counts about 70 per cent of his clientele are Chinese and about 20 per cent expatriates, while others are oversea visitors.

Not one to twiddle his thumbs, Chatron-Michaud is already talking expansion for the boulangerie for the future – setting up kiosks in the shopping malls to sell their breads next year. He plans to bake the bread in Bangsar after hours and a new baker will be brought in from France to assist Gros on this project.

In addition, Chatron-Michaud who is often busy managing the restaurant, has also hired a new general manager. This frees up his time to pursue developing his plans to open another outlet. Even though he has found success with the Yeast formula, he does not plan to replicate it. “I am not big on being a brand as I don’t find it so exciting so it may be another casual French influenced restaurant.”

Yeast Bistronomy

24G, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel:03-22820118.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yeast-Bistronomy/351724934917371

This story was first published in Crave in the print edition of The Malay Mail on October 11, 2013.

Clara Champonnois preps food in the tiny kitchen