French chef in Bengaluru recalls moving to India from China, opening a charming cafe that you'll want to live in

Aurelie Lalande is a name that should be on your radar. The pastry chef from France is serving up some delicious French treats at her Bengaluru café.

Paris and Bengaluru are both famous for their coffee culture, but they are very different aesthetically. While Bengaluru's cafés have a simple, easy-going vibe, Paris is synonymous with cosy sidewalk cafes with timeless interiors and charm. If you are a coffee lover, you can get a taste of French-style cafés and French hospitality if you walk into Bengaluru eatery, Café Plume.

Aurelie Lalande has been living in Bengaluru for eight years, where she runs her French eatery, Café Plume. (Instagram/ Café Plume)

Café Plume is a love letter to Aurelie's native

Aurelie Lalande's Café Plume looks like a typical Parisian café, with large glass windows for people-watching and an Instagramable aesthetic – a muted pink and green colour palette with touches of black and white. The only thing not French about the elegant and colourful café, nestled in Bengaluru’s vibrant Indiranagar, is this simple signage written in English and Kannada:

Not just the visual appeal, what is central to the French café is a complete sensory experience, right from the food to the classic Parisian vibe. At Café Plume, Aurelie serves only what she considers traditional French food with some tweaks, like using local chocolate.

“French cooking is very technical, you need to know all the traditional recipes. The taste is very delicate, and subtle. It is not spicy like Indian food. I would say, in France, the food is a bit bland; it is about the ingredients,” she says. When she moved to Bengaluru after living for five years in Shanghai, China, Aurelie wanted to open a café that provides this experience without compromising on taste or flavour.

Speaking about how she not only moved countries but also bid her career in fashion goodbye when she came to Bengaluru eight years ago, Aurelie says, "I always wanted do something like this (open a café of her own)... for me having a café here in Bengaluru was also about bringing a part of my culture to India. That is why I never tried to Indianize. I try to use local products and seasonal fruits, but I keep the recipes as French as possible. Actually our quiche – which can be a little bland – works really well with people here.”

French classics

You will find all kinds of French croissants, tarts, and quiches at Café Plume. Speaking of croissants, Aurelie says they are one of her favourite treats to make and eat. But these lovely delicacies are temperamental enough to stump even the most accomplished chefs. Even if you follow a detailed recipe down to the letter, a batch of croissants can go very wrong very quickly.

“I would say croissants can be frustrating for a pastry chef. It is a long and time-consuming process, but you would not think that as they look simple. Apart from the long process, you need favourable conditions, like the weather should not be too hot or too cold. You also have to use very good quality flour, which can hold the shape and not become flat after baking. You need some special skills for croissant making,” Aurelie says, adding her team of six chefs churns out 50-70 of these a day.

As elevated as her recipes are, Aurelie reveals the top 3 essential pantry staples every French chef swears by are really simple. She says, “In terms of pastries, definitely good flour, good butter, and good chocolate. To be sustainable we are using local chocolate as India is producing some really good cacao.”

Here to serve your Instagramming need

Café Plume feels like you’ve walked into a beautiful Instagram post. Take a photo of the café in the middle of the day with your smartphone, and you will suddenly be transported to a café in Paris. The place has Aurelie written all over it. “I have done the interiors myself with help from a friend. Some of the furniture is actually from Ikea,” she reveals.

Just think of the boomerangs you'll get at this place:

Bringing a bit of France to Bengaluru

The café has been open for three years and offers an enticing menu of French desserts and savouries (which you can also order online). But if you have a few hours to spare, arrive at the vibrant café to soak in the Parisian vibe amid soothing café music; outfitted with comfy and cute nooks across different rooms, the café is ideal to sit with a book and a cup of coffee.

The café’s attempt at redefining an excellent coffee experience is centred on community-building, staying true to its French roots – after all, French food culture (one-hour lunch breaks are quite common) is as famous as their cooking techniques. Aurelie notes that many of the well-travelled customers appreciate the café's timeless and laidback vibe as it reminds them of the cafés they saw in France — the place is decorated with flowers and framed art; bistro tables and chairs, as well as outdoor seating, are also available.

Speaking about how her café is buzzing with people of all ages and backgrounds, Aurelie says, “We have a lot of regulars. I have no plans to move to other cities as of now and want to stick to Bengaluru. I want to maintain the quality and I find that people in the city are interested in our food... like a basic lemon tart is a very French dish, and I thought it might not suit the Indian palate as it is quite acidic, but people here liked. A lot of people from here (Bengaluru) travel to France and they were looking for a tart like the one they had in Paris.”

French recipe to try this Christmas

With their seasonal and festive Christmas menus, there’s always something new and exciting to try at Café Plume, while the classics stick around. Opening up about fond Christmas memories and traditions, Aurelie spoke about the galette des rois, that is baked throughout January in France. Composed of puff pastry sandwiching a filling, each comes with a crown and has a trinket, called a fève, baked into it. She shares, “If your slice has the fève, you get the crown and the right to be king or queen for the day.”

While making the galette might not be easy, Aurelie has shared her recipe for another traditional French recipe – gingerbread man – that will perfectly complement your cosy Christmas festivities this year.

Ingredients:

⦿ Butter 135g

⦿ Jaggery 100g

⦿ Baking Soda 2g

⦿ Salt 10g

⦿ Ginger Powder 3g

⦿ Cinnamon powder 8g

⦿ Clove powder 1g

⦿ Egg 1pcs

⦿ Flour 360g

⦿ Honey 135g

Method:

⦿ Mix butter and jaggery till creamy.

⦿ Add egg and honey and mix well.

⦿ Mix baking soda, salt, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder and flour.

⦿ Mix everything together and make a ball dough out of it; let it rest in the fridge 30 minutes.

⦿ Roll out the dough until 1 cm.

⦿ Cut some man shape with a cookie cutter.

⦿ Place them in a tray with some baking paper.

⦿ Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes.

⦿ Once cold, you can decorate them with royal icing or chocolate.