Katherine's French Bakery & Cafe

Taking these beauties from our potager to the bakery-cafe, where they will be used in quiches, salads, and omelettes!

Got a bad review for the bakery this week. We actually don't mind when customers let us know if there are any issues with food or service. It can be helpful to use this information to fix any problems and gain perspective.

Interestingly, I had just seen a beautiful "words of wisdom" print with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt that made me ponder the action of criticizing. "...there is no effort without error and shortcoming...". That's powerful. We can strive for perfection, but it is mostly unachievable. To give up...now that would be failing.

Most people do like us and for that we love you!

Mario & Katherine

Breakfast!

We harvested two big containers of grapes from our potager! Our grape and frangipane tartlette is going into the showcase today. Grape jelly coming soon!

On Friday, we had an order for a 14" Black Forest cake. With it's chocolate cake and cherries and cream filling, that's one heavy cake. Thirteen and one-half pounds, to be exact! Delicious, too.

Tomatoes and green beans...just picked and going straight to the bakery-cafe. Coming soon...plums and grapes!

From our potager straight to the bakery!

Barcelona is hot! Sangria cools it down a bit. La Petite Chef Nathalie is taking us to some of her favorite spots.

Large trees and umbrellas to shade us from the Provençal sun for our lunch in Avignon! We are here for one day and one night, as a layover of sorts before we take the TGV to Barcelona tomorrow.

Enjoyed a lovely lunch today with our friends!

Yesterday, we went on a small group tour of the Douro Valley (the oldest Demarc region in the world). Quinta Santa Eufemia was founded in 1864 and has been passed down the family since then. It was fascinating to hear the stories, see the land and vineyards, and taste the wine (some table varieties but mostly port). They trod grapes the traditional way by foot and to the tune of a hand-held drum. The vats are made of rough granite to help keep the temperature cold enough to control the fermentation process. It's quite the science for the wine maker and it's all hands on deck at harvest time. Delicious, it was.

We find it ironic that the first bakery we had on our list to visit in Porto is closed for vacation.

La Petite Chef Nathalie had a chance to catch some Olympic Rugby (women's team) with her Emerson classmate, Zoe!

Last harvest for the bakery-cafe (before we close later today for a two week vacation). Maybe I will gift this basket to a lucky customer!

Today, we catered an Olympics Watch Party luncheon for one of our corporate clients. How fun...and delicious, too!

If you need any fun food to celebrate the Olympics (or just because), give us a call at 303-282-5888! We are open today, Saturday and Sunday (before our two-week vacation closure).

The yummy menu:

Finger Sandwiches - Sliced Chicken Breast with Chutney

Finger Sandwiches - Roast Turkey with Cranberry Mayonnaise

Platter of Grilled Vegetables, served with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and French baguette slices

Domestic and Imported Cheese Tray, served with crackers and garnished with fresh fruit

Whole Quiche - Spinach, Mushroom and Caramelized Onion

Whole Quiche - Goat Cheese & Leek

Honeysuckle Rollups - Honey Cream Cheese, Red Apples, Smoked Gouda and Pecans

Assorted Petits Fours

Repas qui ne coûte rien, est de grand goût et fait du bien.

[Meal that costs nothing, is wonderfully delicious and does a lot of good.]

Just a couple snacks among friends for La Petite Chef Nathalie!

Paris, France

Come get your French fix at Katherine's!

Two things.

First, we are closing after next Sunday's service for our annual two-week vacation. Heads up!

Second, peaches are here! We are serving our peach specials until vacation begins and will resume serving them after our return. Yum!

Props to Safeway's produce department. They had a great setup of unusual melons. I bought one of each to try (for myself!) and we will use the rest for some catering this weekend.

Yum!

Left to right: Picasso melon, Canary Melon and Santa Claus melon.

A missive from France (from la petite chef Nathalie)! 💙🤍❤️

Looks Iike La Petite Chef Nathalie made a visit to Disneyland Paris! 💙🤍❤️

Reminder...we are closed tomorrow!

“Paris was a universe whole and entire unto herself, hollowed and fashioned by history; so she seemed in this age of Napoleon III with her towering buildings, her massive cathedrals, her grand boulevards, and ancient winding medieval streets–as vast and indestructible as nature itself.

All was embraced by her, by her volatile and enchanted populace thronging the galleries, the theaters, the cafes, giving birth over and over to genius and sanctity, philosophy and war, frivolity and the finest art; so it seemed that if all the world outside her were to sink into darkness, what was fine, what was beautiful, what was essential might there still come to its finest flower.

Even the majestic trees that graced and sheltered her streets were attuned to her–and the waters of the Seine, contained and beautiful as they wound through her heart; so that the earth on that spot, so shaped by blood and consciousness, had ceased to be the earth and had become Paris.” — Anne Rice

La petite chef Nathalie is flying to France as we post. She will spend five weeks in Paris participating in an intensive language program [prior to our flying over to meet her in Portugal].

The Cours de civilisation française de la Sorbonne (CCFS) welcomes students from all over the world who wish to learn (or build upon) their knowledge of French language and culture.

Through classes at the Sorbonne, excursions, guest lectures, and firsthand experiences, she will make new friends and further her knowledge of the language.

Bon voyage, Nathalie!

xoxo, Mario and Katherine

Colorful cookies for a vibrant woman. May your day be filled with joy and celebration, Judy!

Love this group! They do good things for the community and our youth.

Find a perfect new home for the feathered friends in your garden! You can meet the creator behind these beautiful birdhouses and browse his selection at this year's event.

We hope to see you there for this great day celebrating both natural and human-made beauty! To purchase your tickets, check us out here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/20th-annual-loveland-garden-tour-art-show-tickets-848490226107?aff=oddtdtcreator

It's a working lunch. Our California Eggs Benedict are so yummy!