“He’s coming, he’s on the trumpet!” In this early Tuesday afternoon, Marlène serves her customers in the eponymous bakery. In this business, with twelve employees, four apprentices cut their teeth. Among them, Mathieu, currently in his trumpet class.
He, the youngest of the siblings, who lives in Bailleau-l’Evêque, has a carpenter dad and an insurance agent mom. His primary school curriculum was disrupted after CE2, “it was going badly”. He investigates the end of primary in the private sector, then college and joins the public for the 4th and 3rd.
Among the Companions
It is there that Mathieu clings to the Companions of Duty and the Tour de France, in Tours (Indre-et-Loire), where one enters by competition.
“I have wanted to be a pastry chef for a very long time. It fascinates me, it makes me feel good, that’s what I like and even more since I’ve been at Marlène’s Bakery. I like the fact that you can create a lot of things from everything and, in quotes, nothing. And I like to make customers happy. »
In September 2021, boosted by his motivation, he joined the Companions. “There are twelve of us in my class. »
“When someone talks to us about something we like, it’s easier to listen!,,
Mathieu Theval (Apprentice)
One month and two weeks in business, two weeks of boarding school in Tours. Why Companions? “Because they require a lot of discipline, they are very demanding. And when someone talks to us about something we like, it’s easier to listen to! »
Mathieu is aiming for a CAP in two years then, possibly, an additional mention in pastry or chocolate in one year before doing a tour of France. “It’s something that would bring me a lot of knowledge, see what is done elsewhere, other techniques, travel. »
The art of transmitting the secrets of an upholsterer, in Chartres
For his apprenticeship, Mathieu Theval opted for the Boulangerie de Marlène, in Chartres. “A good bakery, well known. In the store, the people are pleasant. »
Mathieu arrives there at 6 o’clock, leaves at 12 o’clock. He’s in the lab Monday through Saturday, with one day off. “I finish preparing for the store, make preparations for other cakes. For now, I’m learning, and I prefer to make pies, flans, éclairs and nuns…”
The eye shudders when it evokes Caracas, this caramel and peanut tart; or the Alcazar, this biscuit with cream and chocolate ganache.
“I like to work on everything, but I have a preference for glazing, it’s the finish that is very important visually. »
His salary is equivalent to 50% of the Smic “because with the Compagnons, we are longer in the company. It rewards us for what we do.”
His leitmotif, to please people. “For now, I’m focused on my learning, we’ll see where it takes me. »
Hyperactive
And when the pastry takes too much cabbage, he escapes with his trumpet, which has accompanied him since he was 4 years old. “It empties me, I forget a bit about everything when I play”, notes Mathieu who takes lessons at the conservatory, who plays in the Chartres harmony orchestra and in a festive group Les Bras Ouverts in Chartres.
When he can, he accompanies his father hunting and fishing. “Fishing is like hunting or playing the trumpet, it calms me down!” »
He who was diagnosed hyperactive at 10 years old, recognizes that, “when I do something that I like, it feels. In school or college, it couldn’t captivate me, so it didn’t work, especially if I was asked to focus too much on something I didn’t like. Since I started working, it’s been better. »
Dreux: meeting with those who attend the first apprenticeship and work-study fair
Headed by his boss, he is full of praise: “Things are going well with Marlène, she listens, she understands when we have a problem and she makes sure that we learn well. She is very motivating. »
“This kid had nuggets in his eyes when he saw the products,” admits Marlène Boehm, who decided to take Mathieu Theval on as an apprentice. “It’s the first time I’ve taken on an apprentice at the Compagnons. But it is primarily the personality of the young person that counts. When I take on an apprentice, I look for someone who really wants to because we have jobs that are difficult, at a time when starting work at 15 or 16 is quite rare. »
The pleasure of training, “is finding young people who really want to and, in our profession, hyperactivity is almost a quality. Mathieu is a young endearing, determined, with personality.
Chance
After his apprenticeship, he may want to stay with Marlène. Or to fly on their own.
“He will be a good worker elsewhere. We have problems recruiting, but we also have the chance to train young people who will stay in the business, be good employees and perhaps our future buyers… Ideally, we train them so that they stay with us. We. But the ideal of the ideal is to train them, that they go elsewhere and come back! »
Laurence Gelineau
#Portrait #Apprentice #Chartres #love #pastry #rigor #Compagnons
