Well, it’s that time of the year again – the Holidays! Yes, that means playing host or hostess to all your family and friends. It means catering to their every need and culinary craving. As a personal chef, I know how difficult it can be to cater to so many different tastes when it comes to cooking. And despite all the running around, it sometimes seems impossible to make or even enjoy a nice lunch or dinner with your family and friends. But, the good news is you “can” cook, eat, drink and be merry, even during the holidays, if you are willing to get some extra expert help from my favorite bakery in town: Texas French Bread Company at the corner of Rio Grande & 29th Street.
This is not just a simple old bakery where you go for baked goods and maybe a cup of coffee. This bakery has it all; baked goods made from scratch, excellent espressos and cappuccinos, wonderful breakfast items like Alice’s French toast, incredible lunch specials with daily home made soups, and now even dinner based on local and seasonal ingredients. They have revamped the Bakery’s overall vision in design, menu, and commitment to community. Essentially, owner Ben Willcott stated “we returned to our roots: making food by hand from scratch to the best of our ability, the same way our mom did in the very beginning.” As a longtime customer, I was excited to see them opening for dinner Thursday thru Saturday which, take it from me, is excellent. One of the best dishes I have ever eaten in Austin was at this bakery! I stopped by unexpectedly several weeks ago on a Friday night and decided to check it out. I had Coq au vin, which is a classical French dish of chicken braised with wine, potatoes, ham, mushrooms and pearl onions. It was to die for! I also enjoyed a scrumptious rustic apple tart with an all butter home made crust. The meal made me think so much of my father and how much he would have loved the meal, the time spent with me and the overall food experience. As a result, I decided to talk to the owners who kindly sat down with me for almost an hour conveying their true passion and commitment to good food. The Thursday-Saturday night dinner service at the Rio Grande store is as Ben Willcott put it “the clearest manifestation of our new vision for the company; and if all goes well we will be expanding in the spring to five nights a week.” Trust me people; this is good news for all of us food lovers.
Texas French Bread Company was initially started by Judy Willcott. It all started one February evening in 1980 when Judy made bread for a friend’s Mardi Gras party. Ron and Peggy Weiss, owners of the renowned Jeffrey’s restaurant, were in attendance; they were impressed enough to ask her to start making baguettes for their restaurant. Judy awoke at 4am every day and made baguettes in her home kitchen before going to work at the University of Texas. In 1981 Judy left the University of Texas and opened the first Texas French Bread establishment at 3400 Guadalupe. Needless to say it was a big hit! For those of you living in Austin or Texas for that matter in 1980, it was something very special to be able to get a fresh baguette or a croissant at a neighborhood bakery! From the mid 80’s until the late 90’s Texas French Bread grew into a small local chain with at one point owning and running nine café’s around Austin.
The company is now owned and operated by Judy’s two sons, Ben & Murph Willcott. Even though both brothers grew up in the family business working and learning every aspect of the industry, they each had considerable stints away: Both worked in restaurants and catering jobs in New York and San Francisco. Murph went to law school (with a guy named Barack Obama) and then became a Wall Street attorney. Ben went to Asia and taught English, worked for Dell and wrote for newspapers. But both always had a dream of expanding the vision of their mom’s business to include more home made food and maybe even a restaurant some day.
After months (if not years) of talking, Ben and Murph returned to Texas French Bread in August of 2001 to help retool their mother’s business and take it into the next era. They shut down underperforming stores, keeping only two remaining satellite locations at Red River and South Congress. They purchased the company from their mom and began to reshape it with their new commitment of making simple food at a very high level. This new dedication to good food encompasses the best traditions of Europe–from artisan baking to humble bistro cooking as well as many English baking traditions mixed in with regional Texas cooking.
As a personal chef, I would love to see all of you cooking in the kitchen with your friends and family. But, I realize that some days there is just too much to do and not enough time prioritized for the kitchen. So, try to take some of the stress out of your Holiday season this year by taking advantage of this gem of a bakery. If you are looking for a place to meet a friend for breakfast, a good and reasonably priced lunch with your family, a cup of tea with your husband or wife, or a nice dinner with the in-laws, stop by one of Texas French Bread Company’s three locations and enjoy:
2900 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX – (512) 499-0544
3213 Red River St, Austin, TX – (512) 478-8794
1722 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX – (512) 440-1122
Additionally, if you are looking for a unique food item to serve and wow your guests during the Holidays or even bring to a Holiday Party see below for all their delicious Christmas desserts and gifts.
Christmas Desserts from Texas French Bread
Rustic Cranberry Tart – Fresh cranberries with walnuts and sugar baked in delicious all butter pastry crust. $24
Rustic Apple Tart – Granny Smith and Golden Delicious Apples sprinkled with a little sugar baked in delicious all butter pastry crust. $22
Bouche de Noel – Traditional Christmas Yule Log made with sponge cake brushed with rum, filled with chocolate mousse and iced with chocolate ganache. $36
Bread Pudding – Filled with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, a dash of cayenne, with a streusel on top and caramel rum sauce. $16
Apple Pie – Double crust pie, Granny Smith and Golden Delicious Apples piled high with cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and dotted with butter. $28
Stollen – German Christmas Bread with dried fruits and nuts, almond marzipan and a spirited Christmas glaze. $18
Gingerbread – A delicious, moist spice cake. $12
Also Italian Cream Cake, Chocolate Layer Cake, Coconut Cake
Delicious Gifts
Texas French Bread Cookie Tins – Our best cookies in a beautiful assortment. Butter, shortbread, sand tarts, raspberry spritz, chocolate drops, gingersnaps, mocha walnut, and decorated trees, stars and angel cookies. Large $36 Small $28
Cranberry Bread – The best made cranberry bread made daily from fresh cranberries, walnuts, and oranges. $15
Assorted Tea Breads – Pumpkin, Banana, Lemon Pound, Hobbit $12
