Q&A: Jacqueline's in downtown Melbourne celebrates two years of French baking
On July 1, Jacqueline Dittmore and her husband, Christophe Molitor, celebrated two years of bringing a heaping slice of French culinary joie de vivre to downtown Melbourne in the shape of Jacqueline’s Bakery. The patisserie, boulangerie and cafe fastidiously replicates the flavors of France that Dittmore and Molitor so well know.
Dittmore is not your typical French baker, as you will see.
Question: What is your history, Jacqueline?
Answer: I’m originally from Canton, Ohio, where the Pro Football Hall of Fame is, but I lived in France for 20 years. I got my bachelor’s degree in French and spent a year in France on a study abroad program for my master’s degree. I met my first husband there, and I moved to France, where I settled and got an MBA.
After I split with my husband, I worked in the pharmaceutical field. I met Christophe in France in 2011. He owned a transport business at the time.
Olives and Grapes: 10 years of oil and vinegar
Q: How did you get into the bakery business?
A: I wasn’t thrilled with what I was doing, and Christophe was also ready for a change. Christophe and I were both into gastronomy, so I decided to go into the culinary field. I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and earned my Grand Diploma in cuisine and pastry. It was a grueling eight months of 12-hour days.
Once I went to school, I knew I wanted to start a bakery. I also signed up for state certification in artisan bread baking from Ferrandi (another renowned culinary school in Paris), which I finished in 2015.
Q: Why did you move to Brevard from France?
A: My older brother had moved here, and we would vacation here. Brevard very much reminds me of Corsica, with the wonderful weather and the people.
We decided to move here, and the thing with living 20 years in France, is that your palate becomes very discerning, so I couldn’t find a bakery that would satisfy me, so here we are.
Q: Signature bread?
A: Our baguettes.
Q: Signature pastry?
A: Our Napoleons, but it really depends on what we are baking on a particular day.
Review: Jacqueline’s Bakery a merveilleux addition to Melbourne
Q: Please describe Jacqueline’s Bakery in 25 words or less.
A: Everything is authentic and everything is made from scratch. Our first baker comes in at 2 a.m. to start the process each and every day.
Q: What must first-time visitors try?
A: They definitely must check out our crème brulee. It is true crème brulee. We use real vanilla in the baking process, even though it costs about $400 a pound.
Q: Family?
A: I have two grown children. Anthony is 21 and Emily is 18. She helps us at the bakery. My older brother and his wife still live here. I have another brother and a sister in Ohio.
Christophe’s sons are 26 and 24 and his parents and brothers are back in Paris.
Q: Three words that describe you?
A: Kind, leader, determined.
Q: What is in your bucket list?
A: Even though I lived in Europe for so many years, you’re busy with work and family and you don’t get the time you want to travel. I’d like to travel the world with Christophe.
Q: Famous person you’d love to see at Jacqueline’s Bakery?
A: Alain Ducasse (French-born chef who owns some of the world’s best restaurants) or Phillippe Contizini (French pastry chef known for almost mythical desserts)
Jacqueline’s Bakery
Where: 906 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne
Call: 321-312-6594
Web: jacquelinebakery.com
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Email toastofthecoastfloridatoday@gmail.com.