Vatthana Boulom has worked in the hospitality industry since he was 16 years old. As a Pâtissier, he worked in France for 10 years, mostly in and around Paris’ Michelin star restaurants and palace hotels before moving to New Zealand in 2018.
In Auckland, Boulom quickly adapted to the kiwi lifestyle and began work toward the opening of pâtisserie La Petite Fourchette in Wynyard Quarter. La Petite Fourchette is an extension of the La Fourchette restaurant, which had set up an in-restaurant pâtisserie kitchen but quickly outgrew the space. Boulom works with his team there to deliver fresh product daily and to create an innovative collection of patisserie and savoury goods that change with the seasons.
La Fourchette owners, French-Kiwi couple Natalie and Romain Le Gal had a desire to develop their baked offerings and have the ability to make everything from scratch. This prompted the purchase of a full-size bakery, where delicious pastries could be served alongside a range of bread as well.
Boulom began diving into breads in preparation for the opening and in June 2022, Copain opened on Ponsonby’s Mackelvie Street.
In French, Copain means friend. Separated down, ‘co’ means with and ‘pain’, bread, establishing the bakery as the perfect place to break bread with friends. The name reflects everything the business owners love about French hospitality - sharing and taking pleasure from food with people you care about.
The French boulangerie/pâtisserie makes artisan breads and viennoiserie using traditional French recipes. Boulom enjoys understanding the process of bread making, and learning how things work.
“Bread making is interesting as we are working with a live product, meaning that it’s an ongoing learning process as it changes daily.”
At Copain, the baguette is most popular with customers. Boulom offers two types, just like in France - a traditional baguette and a campagne or country style. The bread is made with an honest process using a long sourdough fermentation and traditional hand rolling techniques. Boulom’s approach to his baking is honest with everything he makes, keeping tradition in mind while experimenting with new ideas.
The simplest, and yet hardest, pastry good to make is the croissant.
“You can’t cheat with it.”
Croissants are a daily offering at Copain, along with pain au raisin and pain au chocolat. On the weekend, customers will often find a flaky croissant special on offer beside nostalgic French treats such as chouquettes, saucisson brioche and madeleines.
The chef likes to keep updated with the goings on of the hospo worlds and food scenes, in New Zealand and worldwide. In the baking space, he has seen a rise in the trend of healthy and environmentally conscious baking - using local and organic produce, and catering more and more to dietary requirements such as veganism, vegetarianism, gluten free, and dairy free.
Boulom continues to "live his best life" in New Zealand, while offering Auckland Central a true taste of French delight at Copain. Copain is open 7am-3pm weekdays and 8am-3pm weekends.
copain.co.nz
