‘We can’t let it go anymore’
Sisters behind BouNom bakery are fighting racism, giving back
BouNom Bakery in Avon has been open for more than a year, serving authentic French pastries made from scratch. The community support has been strong.
Recently, the owners of the bakery have found a second passion to go alongside whipping up croissants, madeleines, canelés, palmiers, financiers and pain aux raisins: doing what they can to raise awareness of anti-Asian hate crimes.
The subject comes naturally to Khamla Vorasane and Chan Graham, Laos-born sisters who emigrated as children in 1980 and grew up in Abilene, Texas. Vorasane and Graham recently devoted a Sunday to raising money for three groups fighting bias discrimination. They raised $4,000.
“Culturally, we’re told to not rock the boat, to let it go, but we can’t let it go anymore,” Vorasane said. “We wanted to highlight how casual racism can turn into active racism.
“We have to stop being the good Asians. That’s the stereotype. We have to start addressing it.”
The drive to benefit Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and UConn’s Fund for Asian American Studies isn’t the first time Vorasane and Graham have raised money for charity. Previously, they have held fundraisers for Community Renewal Team and homeless veterans.
“Our parents instilled in us to give back to the community. This is our way to do that,” Vorasane said.
Career shift
The sisters’ community activism is just the most recent development in a career shift driven by a passion for French food and the lure of entrepreneurship.
Vorasane has degrees from Texas Christian University in history and political science. Her particular interest was the history of the Middle East. After graduating, she wanted to work for the State Department. Instead, she was recruited by a private security firm as a Middle East analyst.
Later, she moved to the insurance industry, where she specialized in ransom underwriting, which involved assessing the risk of kidnapping for corporate executives planning to travel internationally.
“I studied hostile environments, how to spot trends,” Vorasane said.
For that job, Vorasane lived for a while in London. In her spare time, she was fond of taking the Eurostar train from London to Paris to indulge in French pastries and other classic dishes.
“I just love French food,” Vorasane said. “You can’t beat their croissants, their gateaus.”
She and her sister traveled the world together for six months, and both developed a love for French food.
In 2019, Vorasane’s company shut down her division. She could have gotten another corporate job, “earning in the six figures,” she said. Instead, she wanted a break from the grind to do something different.
At this time, the sisters’ dreams merged. Graham has a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University and
a master’s in global business and finance. She was working as a chef. Graham dreamed of opening a French restaurant. The sisters teamed up and decided on a bakery because it was easier than a restaurant and filled a void.
“There was nothing in this area that was a French bakery where everything was made from scratch,” Vorasane said. “We built it, and people came.”
Named after parents
BouNom is named after their father, Bou, and their mother, Nom. Five days a week, Graham arrives at the bakery at 4 a.m. to start prep. Recently, their brother, whom Vorasane called “a talented baker,” left Texas to help with the cooking.
Vorasane is the bubbly, cheerful
face of the bakery.
“I do administration, HR, I’m the hostess [and] I’m the troubleshooter
if the pipes don’t work,” she said.
BouNom’s croissant selection is encyclopedic. In addition to traditional, the store offers chocolate, hazelnut, almond, almond chocolate, chocolate cherry, pistachio chocolate, pistachio cream cheese, vanilla cream cheese, cherry vanilla cream cheese and country ham, cheddar and gruyere.
Lunch sandwiches include Seine-et-Marne, which has ham, brie and crispy apples drizzled with wildflower honey on a croissant loaf; The Nom, which has turkey and bacon with tomato, cabbage, cilantro, jalapeno and wasabi aioli on a baguette; and The Chateaux, with turkey, roasted onion, goat cheese and truffle oil on a baguette. About a dozen flavors of muffins, some made on weekends only, round out the menu.
In addition to French classics, BouNom has a menu portion dedicated to the sister’s Texas upbringing. The “Southern decadence” listing includes such items as Southern pecan sticky buns, cilantro jalapeno biscuits, white chocolate peppermint cookie and other American goodies.
Vorasane said she and Graham’s five-year plan is Graham’s dream: to own a French restaurant. They want the bakery to succeed first, though.
“This will get our name out there, then we can move to that,” Vorasane said.
Meanwhile, the sisters are grateful for the community’s support. They’re also grateful they opened a bakery with easy curbside pickup, rather than a restaurant, during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’d only been open three weeks when the restaurants all of a sudden had to shut down,” Vorasane said. “We’d have been screwed. But as it turns out, we’ve been so blessed. Sometimes I feel that God guides you to where you should be.”
Find them at bounom.com.