Yellowknife (May 12/03) - Some might call it intrepid or even reckless to open a French bakery in another country, merely a couple of months after learning how to bake.

Pascal Bonnin and Pascal Bellegy knew it was a brave move to leave France and take a chance in Yellowknife, but they needed a change and the North was welcoming.

"We knew it was a brave move, but we were 100 per cent dedicated," says Bellegy. "We wanted another life."

Pascals officially opened Dec. 9, 2002 in Yellowknife -- a faraway city they had spent less than two weeks in the year before.

The appropriately named bakery would offer more than croissants and white bread. Eclairs, tarts, candied apples, traditional milk bread, pudding squares and apple turnovers sit behind the bulbous glass display shelf by the cash register. Rows of powdery baguettes stand vertically in tall wooden shelves.

There's a small but growing crowd of regulars that come in for their special order rye bread or box of almond tuiles (a type of cookie). One customer confides that you can't eat just one, before offering me a piece.

With the zest and energy of an adolescent, Bellegy greets each customer with a booming "bonjour" or some flirtatious quip. Most customers know him, ask him about business or about an upcoming hunting trip.

The Pascals call themselves avid outdoorsmen, keen on the perks of country living -- somewhere they can fish and hunt and be immersed in nature. Somewhere like Yellowknife.

The Yellowknife connection

The Pascals first came to Yellowknife near the end of May, 2001 to visit Bonnin's cousin, who was a long-time Yellowknifer. In only a week and a half, the differences where apparent and appealing. Compared with their hometown Chalon sur Saone in the Burgundy region of France, Yellowknife was what Pascal Bellegy calls a mirror opposite.

"Yellowknife has security, business opportunity and it's quiet, relaxed and full of nice people," he says sitting in a sunny pocket in the bakery. He's been here since 2 a.m., as he is every morning baking his 80 baguettes, 15 loaves of white bread and mounds of pastries.

Bellegy bakes away the early morning hours until opening, when he works on the accounts, supervises staff and helps make sandwiches for the busy lunch crowd. Bonnin takes over for the day shift. Like a tag-team, one of the two will be working. Bellegy figures he won't get a vacation until Christmas. But it was all part of the plan.

While vacationing in town, a friend suggested the Pascals open a French bakery (even though neither of them had much, if not little baking experience). They checked in with the local business service centre, where they were told that next to opening a funeral home, a bakery was deemed a very desirable business, projected to fare well in Yellowknife.

They took the idea back to France and resolved to open a bakery in Yellowknife. Back in Chalon, Bellegy left his factory manager position and Bonnin his painting business to become bakers.

They immersed themselves in the piles of paperwork it would take for them to leave France and move to Yellowknife to start their business. After all the immigration red tape, the two left for Rouen in the region of Normandy to attend one of the most prestigious baking schools in the world.

'Feel the dough'

At National de Boulangerie, Bellegy says in six months they learned more than just baking techniques.

"They taught you to feel the dough, to watch the reaction of the dough and to respect the baking process," he says.

"There was a lot of pressure in the institute because they have a 96 per cent success rate," says Bellegy. "There were students from Japan, South Africa and even Los Angeles.

Six months and $10,000 later, the Pascals were certified bakers, ready to supply Yellowknife with eclairs and croissants. For added practice and experience, the Pascals worked in a bakery belonging to Bonnin's cousin Strasburg, helping him make monstrous and elaborate cakes.

"You could only wish to have a boss like that in your life," says Bellegy. They worked there for a month and a half until they felt ready to make the big trip.

Despite a few disparaging comments, mostly by concerned parents, the lads followed through with their bakery scheme and arrived in Yellowknife in July last year. They scoped out about a dozen potential locations, before settling on the space across from Reddi-Mart on 51st street.

It was totally empty, and just the perfect size for their monstrous ovens, proofers and refrigerators. All the equipment was shipped straight from France -- taking over six weeks to arrive.

"It's the best equipment you can buy," adds Bellegy.

Before they could begin playing with flour and icing, the Pascals had to renovate, paint and decorate.

A month and a half later, they were open for business.

At first, Bellegy says customers remarked about high prices for bread, but "after a few months, people realized we were making chemical-free fresh products every day," he says.

Despite long hours and vacation a far off notion, the Pascals have no regrets.

"It's a big, big challenge to open a bakery in another country. We never thought it was going to be easy."