Hidden Gems: Meet Stephanie Mann of Versailles Cafe and Pastries

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Mann.

Stephanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
I grew up in a town next to Versailles in France and was the oldest of three children. Like most French families, we placed a lot of emphasis on mealtime, where we would gather around the table and enjoy each other’s company. My mother was a great cook, and my father would always bring home fresh baguettes each day. We couldn’t end a meal without something sweet, whether it was something simple like a fresh fruit or yoghurt or on weekends a special dessert from the local dessert shop. 

In college, I studied international business in the town of Reims in the Champagne region in northern France. Part of our curriculum required study in a foreign country, and I landed my junior year in Boston, where I perfected my English and met my future husband. After graduating, we moved to England and, shortly thereafter, back to France. We are both foodies, and we spent a lot of time traveling and learning about gastronomic specialties from the various regions in France. This is also when I realized that while my husband liked cooking, I loved baking and making desserts. 

Around the end of 2016, we decided to move back to the USA, and specifically southern California. It was difficult as our 4 children did not speak a word of English, and to help soften the landing, I started baking more and more. We quickly realized that we could not find “authentic” French desserts. Everything was too sweet and didn’t emphasize the flavors of the actual ingredients. This sentiment was echoed by a lot of our expat friends in the area, so I decided to start doing a little bit of catering just after COVID died down. 

It started with just French macarons and brioche bread with door-to-door deliveries but quickly expanded to tartlets and savory appetizers for parties. The catering business grew very quickly by word of mouth, and by Christmas of 2021, it had grown so large that I had to decide either to expand to a brick-and-mortar or shut it down. That is when we found our current location in Encinitas, and the Versailles adventure began. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been a few significant challenges getting Versailles to where it is today. First and foremost, when I was catering, a big week would be baking 10 family-sized brioches 8 dozen macarons, and a dozen or so tartlets. I had to quickly learn how to scale up to a production of several hundred pastries and desserts for sale in the café daily. At the same time, we also have multiple catering events per week ranging from 10 to over 800 people. Luckily, I’ve been able to hire a great team to work with me in both the kitchen and bakery and their attention to detail shows every day! 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Versailles Café and Pastries was born out of our desire to create an authentic French experience for our customers. We focus first on ensuring we have a true French taste profile for each item that comes out of our kitchens. Whether customers order one of our buttery hand-rolled croissants to accompany their favorite coffee, cuts into a Florentine omelet oozing melted brie cheese, or takes a first bite of a rich chocolate éclair, we want them to experience the simple pleasures of true French cuisine. More and more of our customers are making Versailles Café and Pastries a part of their lives by asking us to cater their special events. They look for us to bring taste, simplicity, and sophistication to help make their celebrations memorable. Versailles brings French flair that can help enhance the atmosphere at friendly social gatherings, delight at special occasions like weddings or celebrations, or show appreciation to staff and clients at business meetings. 

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
At Versailles Café and Pastries, we put authenticity at the forefront of everything we do. We make all our products fresh every day in-house and don’t use any artificial preservatives. We even bake our own bread every morning so that our sandwiches taste and feel the same as the ones you find in France. From the moment our customers walk in the door, they will feel transported to a café in France, and even most of our front staff speak French! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://v-pastries.com/
• Instagram: versaillescafe_andpastries
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/versailles-cafe-and-pastries-encinitas-4