In particular, you could see it in the cinema in “Les brigades du tigre” in 2006, and on television in “Joséphine ange garde” in 2007. Gone to try his luck in New York in cinema and production in 2010, Richaud Valls borrows today a reconversion to say the least original.
“I found myself unemployed overnight in March when the film sets closed due to the Covid-19”, explains the 49-year-old Frenchman who grew up in Nîmes. “With my exorbitant rent in West Village, I had to find work quickly, so I started making deliveries for Caviar (a home delivery app) ”. Richaud Valls explains that he has always taken the habit of cooking at home. He then took advantage of his free time in early April to try again to prepare a baguette, after an unsuccessful first attempt two years earlier. “It’s hard to find a good baguette in Manhattan. I wanted to come up with a product that reminds me of my childhood, with a crispy bread on the outside but light and airy inside. ”
Very proud of the result, Richaud Valls makes his product taste to a few friends who convince him to get started. The former actor begins by requesting certification as a "home processor" in late April from the New York State Department of Agriculture, which legally allows him to sell food prepared at home. He then offers his chopsticks for delivery on the Nextdoor application, a social network between neighbors. The success is immediate. “I made about twenty baguettes a day in my little oven, then I took my bike to go and deliver them still hot in aprons in the neighborhood”, explains the almost fifties. “There has been a lot of word of mouth. People started to recognize me and gave me the nickname “bread-man” ”, laughs Richaud Valls.
The actor in conversion then creates an Instagram page, richaud_valls, and a WhatsApp group (+1 347 335 5400), on which New Yorkers can place their order. Requests are now coming from the Upper West Side and Brooklyn. Luckily, Richaud Valls met a few weeks earlier William Jousset, another unemployed actor who also makes deliveries for Caviar. “He had just filmed in the FBI series where he had a good role, but the episode was canceled. We talked and I know he has a great electric bike. We decided that I would take care of the deliveries in the neighborhood, and that he would make the longest distances. "
The two accomplices face an increase in demand, but Richaud Valls cannot follow in the kitchen, because his small oven can only cook two or three baguettes at a time. “I was telling this story to friends in early June on the terrace of Turks & Frogs in West villagewhen the bar owner came to me see. He told me that he had listened to me and that he had a professional oven to offer me. The next day he gave me the keys to his room ”. The former actor, with no experience in baking, finds himself in charge of a professional kitchen. He must source distributors, learn to work with new raw materials and manage a flourishing production. “I now produce a hundred baguettes a day which I sell for $ 12 each, delivery included”, explains Richaud Valls. “I also donate a percentage of my sales to the bar, and I pay William”.
The Frenchman’s original success story caught the eye of the American press. Forbes devoted an article to him on June 11 which further boosted its sales. And since the good news is linked, the former actor announced on July 1 a collaboration with the Benoît restaurant by Alain Ducasse. "It was thanks to Antoine Gournac-Poli, the director of international operations for Ducasse, who contacted me after seeing the article", says Richaud Valls. “I then did wand tests with the chef of Benoît, Laëtitia Rouabah, before getting the green light from the great Alain Ducasse to provide my baguettes to the restaurant! ”.
From his crazy adventure, Richaud Valls retains the encounters and ties he has woven during this difficult period. “The containment was complicated to live for everyone. I felt that the people in command needed to discuss, to be able to exchange. I have also met people who go today beyond the simple delivery of bread ”. Thanks to the buzz it generated on the internet, the new baguette specialist admits having been contacted by many opportunistic entrepreneurs. "I refused all proposals that wanted to surf my name and my story. I don't want to take people for idiots ”, coward Richaud Valls, who is studying the possibility of opening a neighborhood cafe that would offer sandwiches in addition to baguettes. “The goal is not to race for cash, it's to create something local that creates bond and with healthy products ”.
