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Cabo Profile - Meet El Mago del Pan

Published in Holiday 2009 edition of Cabo Noche magazine

By L.D. Cortes on Wednesday October 7, 2009

A Story of Bread and Love in Baja Sur's Capital City

When Les Carmona and his wife Diane sold their home in California and moved south to La Paz, Baja Sur's seaside capital city, they gave up what many of us would envy. Les had spent years establishing himself as a talented pastry chef in renowned California restaurants.

And although he loved the craft, a simpler life beckoned just out of reach. He wanted to bake not for a food critic's pleasure (with spun sugar ladders and clever garnishes) but for the pure love of, well, bread. He found both—the bread and the simple life—in La Paz, Baja California Sur, México.

The self-appointed Bread Guy began the Mexico chapter of his life by selling his breads in a La Paz restaurant. Only after establishing his reputation there did he take the biggest plunge of all: digging into his pockets in order to open his own bakery, in September of last year.

Today, a few blocks from the malecon, La Paz's seaside promenade, stands Les Carmona's bakery Pan D'Les. A striped yellow awning announces that this is the home of The Bread Guy, or El Mago del Pan, which actually translates to The Bread Magician.

The warm bakery is a mix of personal knick-knacks and industrial baking equipment. Light streams in from the windows, and the smell of bread lures in patrons from the street outside.

But Les wasn't always The Bread Guy. After years of hard work in restaurants, clamoring from lowly dishwasher to successful manager, Les realized he wanted back in the kitchen. So he took an enormous risk, enrolling in a culinary school in Chicago to study pastries. He had to hold down three part-time jobs to make it work, but it was well worth it: there, Les met his future wife and muse, Diane—and rediscovered the simple joy of baking. “I realized once and for all that I wanted to be back in the kitchen and I wanted to do kitchen magic with pastries,” he says.

Second only to taste, Les' number one priority is his commitment to adapting to the local ingredients and community. He sources his ingredients from within Mexico, devising recipes accordingly. A dense, tangy sourdough loaf is a case in point: for a starter, he used grapes from the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja Norte's wine region. In water, the yeast on their skins soaks off, creating a starter with a distinct tartness. Forget Seattle, it's a Baja sourdough.

Assimilating hasn't always been simple. At first, Carmona called his breads “pan artesano” (artisanal bread). But in Spanish, “artesano” usually connotes something artistic, like a sculpture. A customer brought it to his attention. “Their perception of what I was selling was a piece of wood carved to look like bread,” remembers Les, laughing. “He was kind enough to point out the mistake.”

What is your motto?
“Sencillez Pasion Amor,” which means simplicity, passion, and love [a message his wife inscribed in a book once and that now serves as his business mission statement.]

How does that apply to bread and pastries?
It has to look pretty good, but the important thing is, it has to taste good.

What's your favorite junk food?
It's a tossup between mac and cheese and Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls.

What is your favorite item on your own bakery menu?
You're asking me to choose my favorite son! It really changes with my mood and blood sugar level. Today's favorite is the ciabatta.

Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Read fiction.

Who is your favorite fictional character?
Anything voiced by Sterling Holloway (who was the voice for Winnie the Pooh).

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
History is my least favorite subject.

On what occasion do you tell a lie?

Confrontation.
If you could change anything about your family, what would it be?
I would bring my mother back.

What is your favorite vegetable?
Asparagus.

What is your biggest fear?
Electrocution!

What is your greatest regret?
No, can't go there. It involved a woman and a promise.

What (or who) is the greatest love of your life?
Ice cream. Diane is a very close second.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Thoughtfulness.

What do you most value in your friends?
A lack of guile.

What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could dance.

What's your biggest pet peeve?
Stupid people. Especially when they don't know they're stupid.

What is your favorite restaurant within 15 minutes of your house?
Tacos Trasviña: Fish tacos always prepared to order, on the highway between us and town. In town, it's La Fonda for breakfast and Il Rustico for pizza.

Favorite Baja Sur activity or place to visit?
Snorkeling Isla Espíritu Santo.

On a Friday or Saturday night, where are we most likely to find you?
With my wife and the dogs.

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
Empathic.

In the whole world, what is your favorite place?
I haven't been there yet, although Japan was stellar.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Winning a cooking challenge with a dish called apple pie with cheddar cheese streusel and mustard custard.

When and where are you happiest?
4 am when the morning breeze kicks in. It blows me away! I also really like throwing the bread in the oven and watch it spring to life.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I think I touched on that already. It's that 4 am thing. It only happens for a moment but the moment has a good chance of repeating.

Is there a particular word you say a lot?
When I'm in an animated monologue I tend to say #&@% a lot.

What is your most treasured possession?
My mind. I'll be very upset if and when I lose it.

Which governs your actions more, brain or heart?
It's a constant battle but the brain wins.

What does the name, Pan D' Les, mean?
In the spirit of all good Mexican plays on words, Pan D' Les is a triple header. The name could mean Les' bread, or Delicious Bread, or, in a nod to my muse and wife Diane, the D is capitalized. After all, it was her inscription in [a] book that gave me my motto, simplicity, passion and love. Pan D' Les is my answer to [Diane's] thoughts and wishes and I dedicate and contribute my success to her.

What is your favorite journey?
The one that ends sooner than I thought it would.

Favorite quote?
We're driving a hundred miles an hour towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing where to sit.

Pan D'Les, in downtown La Paz, is open most mornings from 8 am to 1 pm. Breads (from pugliese to ciabatta to sourdough and bagels) are baked fresh daily, along with such sweet-tooth delights as cream puffs, cherry coffee cake, scones and more.

You will find Pan D'Les on Madero street between Ocampo and Degollado. From the malecon, turn at the National car rental and go to the top of the hill; the bakery is on your left. Closed Sunday. For information, email lapaz.breadguy@gmail.com.