Farewell, Le Coeur de France: One last visit to the bakery of my childhood

Paolo Abad

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Farewell, Le Coeur de France: One last visit to the bakery of my childhood
A fond goodbye to their beloved fruit tarts, croissants, paninis, and to all our own favorites

MANILA, Philippines – There’s nothing out of the ordinary at a Le Coeur de France shop, and you’ll find that it’s not exactly a storybook Paris boulangerie. Yet the popular bakery chain’s shops are filled with the classic scents and flavors of our childhood.

A Le Coeur shop is so stereotypically French – the type where you’d see clerks in Breton striped shirts, red scarves, and berets. A song like “Sympathique [Je ne veux pas travailler]” or Édith Piaf covers would probably be softly playing in the background – accordions, guitars, and all.

You’re certainly not in France, but the aroma of freshly baked bread greets you like a warm “Bonjour.”

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

I was genuinely saddened when Le Coeur de France announced on social media, “[We] will be closing our doors for the last time.” A pang of nostalgia hit me, as I felt a small but palpable part of my growing-up years slipping away. After all, it has been there since 1994.

When I was a wee kid back in the ‘90s, my mom would often drive us both to the branch near Forbes Park after a long day at school. If I had a bad day, there was nothing breakfast food in the afternoon couldn’t fix.

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

I grew up with their fruit tarts (cherry was a favorite), chocolate croissants, garlic bread, and kesong puti paninis – comforting stuff, whether I craved for sweet or savory.

Pasta at home? We would buy a loaf of their buttery and herby garlic bread and pop it in the oven. Not a single drop of pasta sauce was wasted as I wiped the plate clean with it.

Their kesong puti panini – briny and creamy cheese in between crispy grilled bread – was the perfect companion for short, languid afternoon meriendas after I get picked up from school.

For a friend and her family, the chicken pandesal assumed a timeless quality: “The chicken pandesal and pandesals have been staples at family breakfasts for the longest time.”

Another friend told me, “We used to wait for end of day sale and buy most if not all the turnovers.”

FRUIT TART AND CHOCOLATE CROISSANT. Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Many social media users also voiced out their sadness.

In the Rappler article announcing the closure, a commenter lovingly called Le Coeur “growing-up food.”

And that’s exactly what it was, to many people. 

“You have been a part of my mornings for as long as I could remember,” wrote one Facebook commenter, who said she had frequented the bakery since she was a grade-schooler until she was in college.

GARLIC BREAD. Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

She also wrote a short tribute in French: “Vous nous avez dit «merci» de notre soutien, mais moi, je vous suis reconnaissante (You told us ‘Thank you’ for our support, but I’m the one grateful to you.) […] Thank you for the fine memories, the excellent service, and the great food. Vous nous manquerez (We’ll miss you.)”

Lately, I realized that I haven’t been to a Le Coeur shop as often as before –especially with tough competition and artisan bakeries being all the rage.

But for the last time, I walked into the first branch I ever went to, and memories of times gone by came crashing like waves.

I came in looking for my childhood favorites: red cherry tarts, hotdog rolls, and kesong puti panini, which I wanted to have just like the good ol’ times. But alas, I had to settle for mixed fruit tarts and a country ham ciabatta sandwich, paired with tasty mimosa salad on the side.

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

It simply wasn’t what it used to be, but it still faintly reminded me of bygone days, when everything – pardon the cliché – was much simpler.

You can always take a memory trip through pictures and videos. But you can never distinctly replicate what it feels like to bite into their tarts – with the custard and fruit preserve staining your fingers. Or, how you’d get disappointed when a croissant’s flakes fall to the floor.

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Sure, a lot of fancy-schmancy bakeries can make all these goodies. But it’s these memories of the mundane, the everyday moments of yesteryears’ meriendas and breakfasts that will stick.

So, to Le Coeur, we say: au revoir, et merci beaucoup. So long, and thanks for all the bread and the memories.  – Rappler.com

Paolo Abad is the Desk Editor for the Lifestyle & Entertainment sections of Rappler. A self-confessed concert junkie, he used to cover mid-sized gigs and stadium shows for the site as a contributing writer and photographer before joining full time.

 

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Paolo Abad

Paolo Abad writes, edits, and shoots for a living. He is one of the founding partners of the online radio platform Manila Community Radio.