LOCAL HEROES
sage bakehouse BEST CAFÉ, SANTA FE An Interview with Andrée Falls, Owner Photos by Douglas Merriam
Left: Andrée Falls, owner of Sage Bakehouse. Right: Bread on display.
Andrée Falls grew up in the restaurant business. At age four, she was sitting on the kitchen counter of her mother’s restaurant watching the cooks prepare the day’s lunch, and by age eight, she was wearing an apron—she’s been cooking and baking ever since. In 1981, Andrée went to Paris for a semester abroad that turned into a three-year stay. When she returned home to Dallas in 1984, she opened Parigi Restaurant, which she helmed until 1995. After selling Parigi, she moved to Santa Fe and opened the Sage Bakehouse, an artisanal bread bakery, pastry shop, and café. Long before moving to New Mexico, you spent three years in France. How did that experience shape your approach to baking bread, and your approach to food more generally? 6
edible New Mexico | FALL 2021
The experience of living in France was transformative. It was the first time I ever experienced sourdough bread. Pretty much from the first bite of Poilâne bakery bread, I was addicted. I have always been extremely taken with the idea of very simple, delicious, nutritious food. Poilâne’s bread, with exceptional flour, salt, and water (and nothing else), was a perfect example of this sort of food. Describe the backstory of one of your loaves. Where does the wheat come from and how is it ground? Our whole wheat and rye flours come from the San Luis Valley, west of Alamosa. They are stone ground by Kris Gosar in Monte Vista, Colorado. We’ve worked with Kris since the day we opened back in 1996. Our other flours come from a cooperative of farms Ahmed Obo, founder and chef-owner of Jambo Cafe.