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ORAL HISTORY

Lionel Vatinet

La Farm Bakery

Following extensive training in his native France, Lionel Vatinet moved to the United States in 1991. For five years, Vatinet traveled the country helping others open new bakeries. At a trade show in Chicago, Vatinet met his future wife, Missy. Together, they opened La Farm Bakery in Cary, North Carolina, in 1999.

Vatinet and the La Farm team regularly produce fifteen different styles of breads and an additional twenty seasonal breads. Employing a three-day bread-making process and a European-style hearth oven, Vatinet ensures maximum flavor and texture. He is perhaps best known for his signature sourdough bread, a hefty five-pound boule. The Vatinets now operate three La Farm storefront locations in Cary.