French bakery-bistro opening in DTC
Senegalese sisters bring flavors of Paris to Colorado
Lucky us. Senegalese-French sisters Aminata and Rougui Dia — the latter a former chef at a Michelin-starred spot in Paris — have chosen Denver as the location for their first restaurant together.
Next month, they’re opening bakery-bistro Le French in the Tech Center’s Belleview Station.
The Dia sisters are going to be serving all day, starting with French breakfast pastries and coffee drinks, moving on to crepes and quiches for lunch, and small and large plates for dinner. Think mushroom and foie gras croustillant, for example, or seared scallops in a coconut-orange curry sauce.
The highlight of the full-day menus might come around happy hour, which the Dias are calling “afternoon delight.” Then, they’ll be carting tea, coffee, cocktails and wines through the restaurant with mini cakes and pastries. By night, their bakery will also transform into a “dessert bar” for after-dinner cocktails plus caramelized apple tarte tatines or chocolate and rumsoaked babas.
Rougui owned a bakery in Paris specializing in the small cakes. She also was executive chef at upscale Parisian spots Petrossian and Buddha-Bar Hotel. Oh, and she has been awarded the French National Medal of Honor for her contributions to the country as a chef. Other recipients? Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and former President François Mitterrand.
Her sister, Aminata, is a 15year Denver resident who previously owned a catering business and worked for hotel restaurants. The pair grew up in Paris