Nicolas Bunand was born and raised in California. His parents both immigrated to the United States from France.
Nicolas grew up in the baking industry. Fueled by the dream of owning his own remote controlled airplane, he would tag along with his mother at the age of 13 during the summer break to work all night at a bakery in San-Rafael.
Later on, he became the manager of Crepe and Brioche Bakery in San-Francisco for 23 years, a family business which eventually closed it’s doors due to the pandemic. After working for the well known chocolatier, “Formosa chocolates” in San-Rafael for a year, Nicolas felt inspired to get back into baking and decided to start his own bakery named after one of his favorite french pastries he made for years at Crepe and Brioche, Almondine.
Nicolas’s education included attending pastry chef school at “The Art of Pastry” in southern California with world renowned pastry chef Stephane Treand. He also studied at the San Francisco Baking Institute and the Living Light Culinary Institute, as well as learning from his father Jean-Claude Bunand, a French trained master bread and viennoiserie baker with over 55 years of experience.
When Nicolas isn’t baking, you will most likely find him on the petanque courts of Sonoma or playing his guitar.
Nicolas’s appreciation for his customers and his passion for culinary excellence is what keeps him excited to continue working in this diverse and continuously evolving industry.
Nicolas Bunand with Stephane Treand
Nicolas’s father, Jean-Claude Bunand