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For Sacha Jeffay, a Montreal bagel is more than a round piece of bread with a hole in the middle – it’s a form of connection. Connections you want to bring to the UK
“I think bagels are more in Montreal than just food, and anyone from there will know that they are part of the whole social fabric of the city,” says Jeffay, 64, who was born in Montreal and has lived in the UK since he was 20.
“My mission is really to connect people to food and what food means socially.”
So in July 2020, Jeffay opened Montreal Style Bagels, a bakery in Dartington, in the south-west of England, near Plymouth.
They want to create an immersive experience like in Montreal, where customers can watch bakers spin, boil and cook bagels. In Montreal, people also come together for bagel brunches, so Jeffay decided to share this experience by hosting his own bagel brunches at the bakery.
Unlike Montreal or New York, Great Britain doesn’t have a reputation for bagels. Most people in the UK associate bagels with those available in supermarkets, which Jeffay says are generally described as dense and dry.
Dartington resident Jacqueline Minton agrees.
“I mean, it’s really not worth it to buy in this store,” Minton said. “Like buying a chainsaw, right?”
Jeffay said that many people who come into her bakery tell her they don’t like bagels. But after she encourages him to try one, he usually likes it.
“It’s like a mission to educate the British about what a bagel really is,” Jeffay said.
Remake the classic
Jeffay’s journey to recreate the bagel of his youth began four years ago, when he realized he wanted to do something life-affirming.
Seeing as the famous recipe for bagels made in St-Viateur Bagel, one of the longest-running stores in Montreal, is considered a family secret, Jeffay lost from memory. The recipe required a lot of trial and error.
When he started selling bagels, he worked in the kitchen. Eventually, they made 600 to 1,000 bagels a week, a volume that forced them to choose between killing and expanding. It was then that he found a place on the Dartington Estate to open a shop.
London has a history of making its own bagels, which are sold on Brick Lane. But Jeffay believes he’s the first to bring a taste of Montreal to this part of England
Bagels were originally brought to North America from Poland by Jewish immigrants. Hyman Seligman reportedly baked them first in Montreal around 1919. A debate still swirls about what constitutes a true Montreal-style bagel.
Unlike the London or New York versions, Montreal bagels have eggs in the dough, which makes the dough richer but with a light chewiness, Jeffay said.
It is usually boiled in honey water in a wood-fired oven to give it a golden brown color and a mild sweetness. But since Jeffay does not have a preparation for a wood-burning oven, he boiled them in malt, which still gives the bagel a classic chocolate hue.
One thing he won’t compromise on is what he says has been a Montreal tradition since 1900: “They will always be rolled by hand.
Dartington local Clare Horncy recently tried a Montreal-style bagel for the first time.
“I only have the lightest, moistest bagels,” Horncy said. “I think it’s because it’s a Montreal-style bagel, I don’t know. I’ve never been to Montreal, but it’s fun.”
Jeffay said her customers include Canadian expats who hear about her store and come in from out of town.
“When I was working in my cottage [in Totnes]that’s so far away, you know, it’s not even easy to find, I’ll have people come to the door and find someone walking, get out of their car and say, ‘Where’s the bagel?'” Jeffay said. They found me on Google Maps.”
Jeffay has connected with other bakers through social media who make Montreal bagels in other parts of the world, as far as New Zealand.
The bagel joint
Jeffay left Montreal at 20 to study drama therapy in England. That was more than four decades ago, and he says he hasn’t interacted with as many Canadians since opening the bakery.
During the COVID-19 restrictions, he connected with many Canadians living in the UK through Facebook. Because many people are isolated, Jeffay wanted to give them a feeling to remind them of home.
“I think food and flavor are fun for people,” Jeffay said.
He was delivering bagels in England when he realized someone was eating bagels on Zoom with family in Canada.
Jeffay’s bakery continues to facilitate the French-Canadian connection. In fact, he has seen Montreal expats come in and open FaceTime or WhatsApp to show their families in Montreal how excited they are that they have found a sense of home.
“It just means a lot to me to see the logo that is up there and have that name,” said Jeffay, referring to the sign of his store, “and I think, at this stage in my life, to reconnect with the color and reconnect with it. front.”
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