But just days after opening Le Coq Epicier in Flask Walk, owner Yohann Meignen Siret said he was told by one customer: “You have the best baguettes in Hampstead”.
Yohann prides himself on selling authentic artisanal products from his native France in his upmarket deli including wine and cheese.
Although his bread is baked just up the road in Muswell Hill, it is made from French flour to a traditional recipe, and customers can pick up some farm produced cheese or jam to spread on it.
After running his original store in Camden Passage near Angel for a decade, he’s pinching himself at bagging a spot on Hampstead’s prettiest shopping street.
“Hampstead for me is like a dream,” he said.
“When I opened my first shop 10 years ago I wanted it to be in Flask Walk because it is such a beautiful street, but there was nothing available so I found one in Angel.
“Then, when I wanted a new challenge, finally a shop came up in Flask Walk.
“I love to walk on the Heath and finish in the village looking at all the shops – I am so excited that one of them is mine.”
The Crouch End resident, who is originally from Nantes, has taken over the half of coffee shop Olive & Sage which was used for seated customers.
He was handed the keys just weeks before his second child is due – but the new store is his current baby and he’s filled it with delicious French products.
“There are a few competitors in Hampstead but I think there is a demand for fine products from France,” he says.
“There is no middle man, I visit small artisans in France, I try something I really love and I want that in my shop.
“I buy directly from them and put up photographs of my suppliers to show the face behind the product – it may be a bit more expensive, but people understand that a family have been making this product for generations.”
Calissons – candied fruit and almonds from southern France wrapped in pretty boxes – are a bestseller, as are Petit Beurre biscuits, jam from Brittany and baked goods from Pierre Alix in Muswell Hill.
“It’s been a good week – I am surprised how supportive the customers are saying ‘thank you, we are so glad you are here,'” says Yohann.
“They really support the small businesses in Hampstead. But perhaps it helps that I am next door to a beautiful ice-cream shop!”
Le Coq Epicier is now open at 6, Flask Walk, Hampstead. lecoqepicier.co.uk
