Brooklyn’s Bien Cuit Bakery expands to Manhattan

November 20, 2012 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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Brooklyn’s popular Bien Cuit Bakery, which was recently named one of the best eateries in New York by Food & Wine magazine, is expanding to Manhattan.

The bakery, located at 120 Smith St., will open its first shop in Manhattan at 35 Christopher St. in Greenwich Village. The opening is expected to take place by Christmas, the owners said.

At the same time, Bien Cuit, known for its artisan breads and delicious pastries, is also expanding its wholesale operation to provide bread to a growing number of New York restaurants and cafes and venues.

Bien Cuit is currently leasing a 5,000-square foot warehouse in Sunset Park to ramp up production for its private label business. The site, formerly used by a kosher bakery, will be outfitted to accommodate Bien Cuit’s ultra-slow fermentation process that is the hallmark of its breads and other baked goods, the owners said.  

The new wholesale space is being supported by a loan from the Partnership for New York City Fund, which provides capital to entrepreneurial businesses with community roots. Bien Cuit is one of the first non-technology businesses in New York to receive backing from the Partnership.

The owners, Zachary Golpher, the former executive chef at Philadelphia’s Le Bec Fin restaurant, and his wife Kate Wheatcroft, first opened Bien Cuit on Smith Street in July, 2011.The bakery has been featured in many food magazine, including Bon Appetit.

Bien Cuit is French for “well done.”

Bien Cuit’s breads and pastries – including its single-serving “petit pain” loaves – can be found at multiple restaurants, cafes and venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan including Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café.

The menu at the Smith Street location includes rye and sunflower bread, raisin walnut bread, and of course, the French favorite, baguettes. The desserts include banana and bourbon tarts with chocolate, parsnip cakes with carrot icing, and caramel hazelnut and roasted pear tarts.

Golper and Wheatcroft said they have a waiting list of places when they begin adding new accounts in January, but they intend to keep the total list of outlets they serve under 100.

“We want to partner with restaurateurs and retail operators who share our vision and respect the slow fermentation process that we use,” Wheatcroft said. “We’re excited about our expansion into Manhattan and the launch of our commissary kitchen in Sunset Park, allowing us to bring true artisanal baking to more customers across New York,” she said.

For more information, call Bien Cuit at 718-852-0200 or visit www.biencuit.com.

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