“A cake from leaflets of almond dough with a bit of nut crunch and bitter chocolate mousse coated with coconut, Concord cake with layers of chocolate meringue with layers of bitter chocolate mousse between them, a celebration of apples in a crumbly dough, caramelized apples with a selection of nuts…” A visit to Bonnofait...
Do you also sometimes wonder about the source of the name of something? In fact, this happened to me with the curious name Bonnofait, a kosher French coffee house in Maccabim-Reut. Turns out that the name is a combination of two Hebrew phrases - one is an invitation to the baked-goods experience, Bo Na’afe (“Come, let’s bake”) and the other a small hint to the magic of Bonnofait, in French Bon Faire (“Well Done”), much like the café itself!
Bonnofait was established 13 years ago, starting as a small bakery shop with a variety of sweet delights. This very small bakery, filled with warmth and love, turned into a coffee house located in the heart of the commercial area of Reut. Norit, the owner of Bonnofait, learned the secrets of baking in France where she spent a number of years. When she returned to Israel she brought her knowledge and experience to Israel and we have benefited tremendously!
It was a Friday morning when I met with my good friend for some chatting and weekly updates. Despite my instinct to sit inside and soak in the intimate homey atmosphere of Bonnofait, the morning rays of sun called out to us to sit outside.
The menu at Bonnofait is special and most enticing. We decided to deviate from the standard breakfast and treat ourselves to something different. We found a great variety of breakfast options, mini-sandwiches, salads, pastas and, of course, the baked goods and cakes were many and their wonderful perfumes everywhere.
I chose the toast croissant breakfast even though I hesitated a moment over the ingredients, wondering to myself how eggplant would taste in a butter croissant. The first bite melted into my mouth and rid me of all concerns, however. A surprising butter croissant filled with mozzarella cheese, roasted eggplant, tomatoes and black olives; the combination was refreshing and the cheese deliciously molten. It is served with a salad in vinaigrette dressing and, of course, fine coffee and cookies with pumpkin and sunflower seeds to follow.
Our morning toast awakened in us a desire for more food so we ordered Bonnofait’s “Salad of Desire.” A rich, colorful salad, summery and special, with baby greens, a variety of seasonal fruits, figs, peaches, grapes with roasted almonds thrown on top. The salad is served with a jibetta toast with butter and roasted frommage cheese.
With our enjoyment in the fantastic magical tastes and the French flavors at Bonnofait, we decided to explore close up the selection of baked goods. We could not resist. A number of them grabbed my attention and I was sorry that I could not just taste them all. A cake from leaflets of almond dough with a bit of nut crunch and bitter chocolate mousse coated with coconut, Concord cake with layers of chocolate meringue with layers of bitter chocolate mousse between them, a celebration of apples in a crumbly dough, caramelized apples with a selection of nuts and the list goes on. On this particular Friday morning we chose a pear pie cooked with red wine served with whipped cream on the side. Just the right amount of sweet combined with a hint of wine that came and went with each bite.
Bonnofait is kosher and open every day of the week until 11p.m., Friday until 2p.m. They offer catering and an event space for up to 120 guests to enjoy their delicious cakes. They will soon be offering a new children’s menu, offering a variety of sandwiches and salads at attractive prices. No doubt that all the goods associated with Bonnofait are made well, taste delightful and offer a vast variety of tastes to enjoy the magic of both sweet and savory.
