Eric Kayser was in town to promote the opening of his first Maison Kayser in Brooklyn (57 Court Street). Luckily for him, that visit coincided with a contest for NYC’s best baguette that was held late last month at the Sofitel hotel.

I was at that contest, sampling crusty baquettes and specialty breads from more than a bakers’ dozen bakeries, who were the finalists of French Morning’s readers’ poll. The bakers’ breads were pitted against each other in a blind juried tasting to win the title of Best Baguette in NYC. Eric Kayser’s baguette was crowned best — both the public’s and jury’s choice.

So when I posed our Guest Foodie questions to Eric, not surprisingly his responses were geared toward his bread. I sat down with him as he was off to the airport heading first home to France, then on to Saudi Arabia where he recently opened two Maison Kayser — his artisanal bakeries — in Riyadh. Eric’s been busy for the 20 years he’s been in business, opening his flagship bakery on Rue Monge in Paris in 1996 and today having nine Maison Kayser bakeries in New York City, 26 in Paris, and over 155 locations throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

When he’s not working hard to open new bakeries, you may see this father of two and multi-marathon man, running the streets or parks of where ever he is. That’s him taking time, just for him.
– bonnie

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Which specific food product, ingredient or gadget would you never give up? The razor blade to cut the baguette, which represents the signature of the baker.

What do you like to serve when you entertain? I’d serve Blanc de Blancs champagne and sliced sour dough bread along with some ham and cheese – very beautiful and simple to share.  I would do the cooking, preparing a special dish of roast chicken with crisp skin along with crispy roasted potatoes and haricot vert. And pear, raspberry or apple tarte tatin.

If you got to choose what you ate, describe your “last meal?” I’d start with good champagne, then have a red burgundy with a beautiful piece of Dover sole or turbot, mashed potatoes, haricot vert, corn on the cob, good bread, a good tarte tatin, coffee ice cream and coffee. And I’d say, “good-bye.”

What food is your secret guilty pleasure? Dark chocolate, followed by milk chocolate, like what we sell at the shop with nuts.

What is your go-to, neighborhood restaurant? Where you can eat very good food with great wine — in New York City, ABC Kitchen and Le Bilboquet; in Paris, L’acajou, Closerie des Lilas, and Minipalais.

What is one food product most people don’t know about, but should? The différence between fresh bread like mine — made with flour, water, natural yeast, salt and passion— and the long-lasting bread because they put sugar, margarine, preservatives …. One bread is good for your body … and the other….

Describe your worst kitchen disaster and how (if possible) you saved it. One day I was doing a bread baking demo in Toulouse in front of 40 people, and I forgot the salt. I remembered it an hour later, and said, “I made a big mistake, I need to start over!” I was very embarrassed.

Who was your most influential mentor? Jean Georges and Eric Ripert,  as they are both great, successful chefs, doing a good business here in the US and other countries. They keep the quality, take care of their workers – they do a good job with a lot of elegance.

To follow Eric’s Maison Kayser on Twitter, click here.