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Oct. 12, 2019
John Egerton Prize at the Southern Festival of Books, Nashville
Oct. 24-26, 2019
2019 SFA Fall Symposium, Oxford ⟶
Dec. 9, 2019
SFA Celebrates Jenni Harris, Atlanta History Center
March 28, 2020
2020 SFA Spring Symposium, Birmingham
Oct. 8-10, 2020
2020 SFA Fall Symposium, Oxford
Support
the SFA
Support
the SFA
Oct. 12, 2019
John Egerton Prize at the Southern Festival of Books, Nashville
Oct. 24-26, 2019
2019 SFA Fall Symposium, Oxford ⟶
Dec. 9, 2019
SFA Celebrates Jenni Harris, Atlanta History Center
March 28, 2020
2020 SFA Spring Symposium, Birmingham
Oct. 8-10, 2020
2020 SFA Fall Symposium, Oxford

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region.

< Back to Oral History project: Southern Grains

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, working to help 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 15 different styles of breads, and an additional 20 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.

Date of interview:
2018-01-12

Interviewer:
Kate Medley

Photographer:
Kate Medley

Download Transcript

“

“We deal with three ingredients: water, flour, salt. And from that, it look like not very challenging, but it is, and we learn every single day for it.” ~ Lionel Vatinet

Other Project Interviews

Interview

Rob Segovia-Welsh

Rob Segovia-Welsh is the co-founder of Chicken Bridge Bakery in Pittsboro, North Carolina.

Interview

Jennifer Lapidus

Jennifer Lapidus is the founder and general manager of Carolina Ground in Asheville, North Carolina.

Interview

Graison Gill

Graison Gill is the founder of Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Interview

Glenn Roberts

Glenn Roberts is the founder of Anson Mills in Columbia, South Carolina.

Interview

Evrim Dogu

Evrim Dogu is the co-founder of Sub Rosa Bakery in Richmond, Virginia.

Interview

Caroline Lindley

Caroline Lindley is the Vice President of Marketing and the tenth generation at Lindley Mills.

Interview

Billy Carter

Billy Carter is the founder of Carter Farms in Eagle Springs, North Carolina.

WORKING TOGETHER

WE CAN CULTIVATE PROGRESS.

The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Bill Smith Crooks Corner

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