Thunderous silence, a croissant that will stay forever: the celebration of "Lehamim" croissants has opened - voila! Food

Croissant pop-up, "Lehamim" bakery (photo: Ido Shaham, editing: Noa Levy)

The creative meeting that started the annual Croissant Festival of the "Lehamim" bakery could have been interrupted while still in a fight.

In an explosion, that is, not because everything went smoothly for her.

In fact, it is possible to say now, with the wisdom that is best in hindsight, that one step is not calculated enough, a single sentence said in a certain tone and at a certain timing and with a certain content - and this whole dipping carnival was filed in the archives of the Israeli food world as a four-year experience and nothing more, a great and worthy event that was not learned To arrive in one piece and without crumbs for another birthday celebration.

Uri Sheft, luckily for everyone involved (and also luckily for him, apparently, he is experienced enough to admit it), knew better.

Mostly, he knew when to speak and when to be silent, and now he also knows very well when it is best and most delicious to be wrong.

The results of the creative.

Croissant pop-up of "Lehamim" bakery (Photo: Daniel Lila)

"When they got home - two such long croissant sandwiches, with everything inside and out - I didn't stop eating, and I swear I finished them both"

"Even in my home, even when I worked and traveled, and also in business - I always chose a line that is a little more traditional and faithful to the source," he said while preparing the background for the drama with a smile, "of course we always try to be up to date with what is happening in the world right now, but we don't want sparkles and fireworks, But a little wink."

And so, beckoning but not twinkling, the croissants gathered before a decision.

Self-evident past successes, such as the classic croissant-patissière-strawberry-chocolate, passed the filter easily, while a dilemma between a Melbi croissant and a lemon meringue croissant created a dispute among the "Breads" management, and finally came together in favor of the latter, because Sheft himself thought that Melbi's desserts had become worn out. and little used.

At this point, Sheft's partner shared a personal fantasy with Crosson Matias.

"I'll tell the truth - I thought it was an idea that had no chance of going, but I kept quiet," Sheft repeated the decision-making process, "When they got home - two long croissant sandwiches like that, with everything inside and on top - I didn't stop eating, and I swear I finished them both."

According to his testimony, "There is something in the crispness, in the delicate sweetness of the dough, that goes well with the sour cream and the salty matias and the onion and radish, so much so that I foresee a great future for it here. We will probably also put it on the menu regularly, or at least as a Friday special. Always ask Which product do I like best, and I have two fixed and careful answers - either the last one I made, or the last one that came out of the oven. With this one, I try not to get too excited, but I think it's going to be a big hit, and I'm really excited."

Silence is worth its weight in gold, as we know.

But Uri Sheft's silence is worth a golden croissant.

The bread people

The Optimistic Pursuit of "Lehamim" Bakery

To the full article

The right to remain silent has won.

Matias Croissant of "Lehamim" Bakery (Photo: Daniel Lila)

This rolling croissant event is not exactly one of the staples of existence for the old bakery - twenty-something years old, judging by the circles of flour on the floor.

"We love the everyday," Sheft emphasized, "but here we still dressed for the occasion and the date (International Croissant Day falls on January 30, it's okay if you didn't receive an invitation). This is our time of the year."

"Time for breads" means, among other things, a double-baked chocolate-banana-pecan croissant, filled with pastry cream and banana slices, topped with almond cream and pecan crumble (NIS 33), "Broisson" which is yeast dough wrapped in butter and covered with sugar crystals (NIS 49 NIS), the same strawberry croissant and crème pâtissier with cream and chocolate-dipped strawberries (NIS 49), and also that lemon meringue croissant, which beat the Melbi in a duel and makes a proud turn with a lemon cream and Italian meringue filling on top (NIS 49).

At the same time, the savory menu will offer an avocado and feta croissant with chili and pickled lemon (NIS 49), a double-baked "Tostson" filled with spinach and cheese (NIS 49) and the highlight in itself - "Matitiho", which is a croissant stick topped with Matias, sour cream , radish, chili and tomato seeds (NIS 44).

day after day.

Judge (Photo: Daniel Lila)

"This is a pastry that I personally really, really like, since my Danish Pastry days in Denmark and my studies in France," explained Sheft, "out of this passion and love we hold the festival, maintain it and try to improve it a little more every year."

These improvements are reflected in those tense preparation meetings, and are leveraged almost every morning through the daily rounds of the baker, who leaves his home next to the parent branch and tours the stores ("We are not a chain", he insists), examining the yeast and yeast performance.

After all these years, he knows how to say honestly, every day of baking brings slightly different results.

"The quality of ourselves".

"Lehamim" bakery (Photo: Michal Larnet)

"The only way I know I'm doing well is when the customers come back. We go to check what's new out there of course, but in the end we end up here again"

Matias or lemon meringue, the large audience of "Breads", according to Sheft, is still distinctly faithful to the almond croissant ("Let's debunk the myth", he exclaims with a smile, "These are not old croissants!"), which are sold in larger quantities every day A normal croissant and a chocolate croissant together.

The same audience, he analyzes, also knows how to go out, and constantly examine innovations and bakeries.

"This phenomenon is exciting, and my envy of the local bakers is like the envy of writers," he explained, "We are constantly aware of what is happening around us, fighting for profitability and manpower, but mainly for our own quality. The only way I know that I am doing well is when the customers return We're going to check out what's new outside, of course, but in the end we end up back here."

"Our time".

Croissant pop-up of "Lehamim" bakery (Photo: Daniel Lila)

Sheft's regular rotation often expands to examine additional potential locations in Israel, and to deepen the Boston presence of "Lehamim", a city that knows how to appreciate quality and professionalism but at the same time refuses to give up the old and beloved coffee of Duncan Donuts.

"Those who grew up there admit that it is impossible to get it out of them," he described, "so there is a challenge, and this is even before our attempt to overcome the myth that there is no good coffee in the United States."

According to him, "After the tour we did in New York, we decided to develop abroad.

We did research, we were looking for a diverse and young audience, and we decided to delve into this city, which is actually many small cities united together.

The concept there is a little different, more coffee and pastry, or just one of the two, more thoughtful than the Israelis, without taking a box to the guys in the office, but that's also part of the point."

The challenges abroad and the challenges of Israel get Sheft up every morning with a little worry and much more alertness, as he defines it. "In the end, the secret of success is simply to do it over time.

Day after day, year after year.

to wake up every morning and get to work at seven." Most of the year this probably means an almond croissant in hand. This weekend you can take advantage of his right of silence, and go for the Matias. Croissant

• Food

• The food news

Tags

• breads

• Uri Sheft

• croissant