Last year, Food&Home introduced readers to La Motte Bakery, where master baker Markus Färbinger’s influence and philosophy brought a renewed focus on bread in its most authentic, wholesome form. This time, we return to Franschhoek to shine the spotlight on one of the driving forces behind the bakery’s success: Ricardo Slawers.
Baking for more than a decade
Ricardo Slawers has been baking at La Motte for 11 years. While his beautiful breads and the estate’s famous mosbolletjies have been putting satisfied smiles on the faces of bread lovers for all these years, it is since the opening of the La Motte Bakery in 2023 that Ricardo has found a new appreciation for bread. Under the guidance of master baker Markus Färbinger, founder of Knysna’s well-known île de pain café, an in-depth understanding of and passion for bread in its original wholesomeness and beauty are at the essence of the bakery’s offering and therefore also Ricardo’s baking philosophy and strategy.
Ricardo leads a team of bakers that presents a wonderful daily variety of freshly baked options from the on-site wood-fired oven, designed and produced by Four Grand-mere in France. Some of the favourites are the classic sourdough loaf and La Motte’s popular seasonal mosbolletjies during harvest time, ciabatta, the crustique (the predecessor of the baguette), the Cederberger (a dark, malty rye sourdough with spices), flatbreads such as focaccia and fougasse drizzled with salt and olive oil and The Motte loaf created especially for La Motte. Available to purchase and take home, the variety of bread also forms the basis of the café’s daily menu.
Originally from Riversdal in the Southern Cape, Ricardo matriculated in Wellington before moving to Franschhoek in 2005. He started working as a carpenter straight after school, but in 2010, he started at Val de Vie’s then Sabrage restaurant, changing the direction of his career. From pizza to pastry, he moved to Le Chocolatier, where he learned to work with chocolate and tried his hand at baking cakes. A stint at the ICA’s The Apprentice introduced him to bread, and it is with this knowledge that Ricardo started as part of the pastry kitchen and bakery at La Motte in 2014. He soon took the lead and baked for the La Motte Farm Shop and Restaurant.
Enthused by Markus Färbinger’s commitment to excellence and belief in authenticity and wholesomeness, Ricardo is leading the La Motte Bakery with enthusiasm, passion and relentless attention to detail. With such dedication, Ricardo has now earned an opportunity to become a Bread Sommelier. He will be attending an advanced training course for experienced bakers at the renowned National Bakers Academy in Weinheim (Germany). This acclaimed course goes beyond teaching production methods and focuses on training bread ambassadors with a comprehensive knowledge about bread that includes the 22000-year-old history of bread baking, sensory skills, raw material knowledge, knowledge about the great bread culture of different nations, bread types of the world, bread nutrition, food pairing (which bread goes best with which wine, cheese, etc.), communication, media training and other bread-related content.
This course brings together the best and most successful bakers, who have to submit applications to become part of the exceptional opportunity of becoming a Bread Sommelier.
For Ricardo, the opportunity is both exhilarating and humbling. When asked whether he’s ready to speak some German:
A few words… but not enough to survive with! Luckily the course is presented in English!”
When asked about his favourites at La Motte, he doesn’t hesitate:
The Sourdough loaf gives so much satisfaction! It takes a long time and careful attention to get it right, but when it comes out the way you anticipated, it brings immense joy. I love taking a perfect loaf with the ultimate crust out of the oven and also to imagine people enjoying it at home – perhaps a fresh slice with generous butter or a toasty with avo!”
For Ricardo, bread is far more than food. It’s nourishment, tradition, and connection. When asked whether his family eats bread:
They do! They don’t have a choice, because bread makes me tick and I can’t help to share this passion. I have three kids. A girl in her early twenties, a boy in his late teens and my baby, a girl in her tweens. They look forward to me coming home with a freshly-baked sourdough to enjoy together, but what I am most proud of, it is that we’ve managed to make our kids conscious about consumption. They challenge me to bake and debate – even on my days off!”
Ricardo sees this opportunity as an absolute highlight of his career. Both excited and nervous, he can’t wait to leave for Germany in October on what would be his first international visit. Already a bread ambassador in every sense of the word, Ricardo can’t wait for the dedicated enrichment and empowerment – and the title of Bread Sommelier.
Also See: Baked to perfection: Meet two of the experts behind La Motte Bakery
Baked to perfection: Meet two of the experts behind La Motte Bakery
