Jean-Claude Bakery sweetens Lakeside Farmers Market

Chef Jean-Claude Sanchez had already established his reputation as a bakery chef in New York’s prominent French restaurants, but when he and his wife, Annette, wanted to set up shop in Warwick, they accidentally turned onto Mitchell Corners and saw a spot for rent. They eventually turned the place into an award-winning patisserie for over 25 years.

In 2018, they combined their Warwick location with their more spacious Greenwood Lake shop that had been built over a decade ago. They had been baking in Greenwood Lake for several years, supplementing their capacity at the smaller Warwick shop, but it just made more economic sense to move to Greenwood Lake.

”We’ve always enjoyed the luxury of our place in Greenwood Lake,” said Annette, “It features an air-conditioned kitchen, a larger preparation area to serve our guests, and an opportunity for us to produce more for both shops.”

Jean-Claude grew up in the famous Basque region (also known as “Euskadi”) of southern France, just across the border from Spain. His Artisan Bakery & Dessert Café creates a vast array of cakes, cookies, treats, special occasion celebratory cakes, holiday specialties, seasonal offerings and more. Fruits used in his desserts are picked from local orchards in season.

During a recent visit a selection of mini fruit tarts together with other Basque-region favorites were displayed on a table.

“The Gateau Basque is a favorite among residents of both Warwick and Greenwood Lake that we frequently sell out of. It’s made with a citrus custard that’s not too sweet and pleasantly tart. In France it’s often served with sections of gourmet cheese, like brie and camembert, together with your favorite wine,” said Annette.

Jean-Claude [JeanClaudeBakery.com] has won numerous awards from regional media organizations and customer groups, like Zagat for the past decade, “Best of the Hudson Valley,” “Best Bakery” by Straus Newspapers, and others.

Visitors can discover several gourmet purveyors of fresh fruits, produce, prepared foods, breweries, distilleries, and other goodies at the weekly Lakeside Farmers Market, at the foot of Orange County’s largest fresh water lake. For more information about this popular foodie destination, open every Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon, click on Villageofgreenwoodlake.org/lakeside-farmers-market.