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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine is St. Charles County's
exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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Restaurant Spotlight Archive |
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French Gourmet Bakery & Café: A treat for all your sensesBy Mary Ann O’Toole Holley
 Walk through the door of French Gourmet Bakery & Café and you be treated to a feast for all the senses.
The aroma of baking bread, the colors of the fresh strawberries and apricot glazed apples layered on top of artistically created pastries and the tastes, oh the tastes, are just out of this world. O’Fallon’s newest and (as far as we can tell) only French café in the area is a must for anyone in search of a special dessert or one of the finest casual dining experiences in St. Charles County. While the French Gourmet Bakery has been around since 1999, just a few miles up the road, new owners Rob and Dawn Bouché have brought together the best of both worlds, buying the bakery business, moving to a new reproduced French café and integrating the art of French bakers Jacques and Carol Royer with fine food brought to the table through taste testings with friends and family. “We started talking with the Royers (former owners of French Gourmet Bakery) and found that our desire to open a French Café fit well with their bakery items,” said Rob Bouché, explaining an idea spurred after he and his wife lived in France for four years and fell in love with the cuisine. “Jacques grew up in a French bakery and we love his recipes and designs and wanted to piggy back on what they started.” Jacques has been baking since he was just 13 years old, and Carol has been decorating cakes and desserts for 25 years. Together they bring 50 years or so to the business of providing fine food and extraordinary cookies, cakes and an array of unusual tortes. French Gourmet Bakery serves breakfast and lunch, but they’re open until 6:30 p.m. so dinner from the lunch menu is a nice option. “I think what’s different about our products is everything we do is made here, made fresh in the bakery,” Dawn Bouché said. “The butter is real and the chocolates are all top quality Belgium Chocolate.” Specialties include mouth-watering European pastries and cakes, and handcrafted breads that are also used with café items. Rob says their concept is along the lines of another popular pastry and bread company, with a French flare. “We don’t bill ourselves as fast food, but a matter of how can we serve good food and fit within a patron’s busy lifestyle,” Rob said. Breakfast can bring a sweet touch with croissants and Danish rolls, or a heartier meal like their Breakfast Croissant Sandwich featuring scrambled eggs, Swiss cheese and your choice of bacon, sausage or ham served on a homemade, freshly baked croissant ($3.09). The lunch menu offers a selection of salads like the Salade Maison, a mix of spring vegetables, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion and enhanced by a balsamic vinaigrette dressing ($3.99).
French Gourmet Bakery and Café brings beautiful surroundings with enough options to soothe the soul of the hungriest of men, women or children. Catering is also available.
French Gourmet Bakery & Café 957 Waterbury Falls Dr. • O’Fallon (About 1 mile Northeast of I-64 on Hwy. K) Phone: 636-329-8250 www.frenchgourmetcafe.com
Hours:Monday—6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday—Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday—closed
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