Inside the kitchen of Martine and Jonathan Bauer, the co-owners of Bar Pompette and Restaurant Pompette

In 2007, a chance encounter on a tiny island changed everything for Jonathan and Martine Bauer, now the co-owners of Bar Pompette and Restaurant Pompette. It was Jonathan’s second day as the sommelier at Constance Prince Maurice Resort, a luxury hotel on the northeast coast of Mauritius Island. “I got lost and couldn’t find the wine cellar,” he says—not a good look as the new resident wine expert. “I asked someone for directions, and it was Martine.” Born and raised in Mauritius, Martine had recently completed culinary school and was working as a chef at the hotel. “It was like if I’d come to work but didn’t know where the kitchen was,” she says.

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Professional blunder aside, the two hit it off and got married four years later. Then they spent almost a decade in Paris, thriving in their respective fields. Jonathan was named the best sommelier in France in 2014, and Martine became the French prime minister’s personal chef. “But we always wanted to open our own business, and it’s hard to open a French restaurant in France,” she says. So, in 2019, the two packed up their cookbooks and their two kids and moved to Toronto.

“The gastronomy scene in Toronto was booming, and we wanted to be a part of it,” says Jonathan. As proof of their enthusiasm, the two of them, along with their business partner Maxime Hoerth, opened four businesses in four years: Restaurant Pompette in 2020, Bar Pompette in 2021, Pelican Wines (a wine agency) in 2022 and Bakery Pompette in 2023. Needless to say, it’s been busy, but making time at home for shared meals is of the utmost importance. “It doesn’t matter if you’re tired or angry, dinner is a family thing,” says Martine.

They both cook a lot at home but rarely together. “For me, it’s a hobby,” says Jonathan. “For her, it’s serious.” Martine runs their home kitchen like a restaurant, including filling the fridge with house-made staples (such as terrine and pâté) and meticulously organizing its shelves with vital ingredients, like high-quality butter. “There are three pounds of it at the back,” she says.

Sundays are for big grocery hauls. The couple frequents Fiesta Farms for fresh produce, seafood and pantry staples. “The store is the perfect size. I hate spending two hours in a huge supermarket,” says Jonathan. Since food is a family affair, they get the kids involved. Their eight-year-old son, Mathis, helps with the grocery shopping, and Harmonie, who’s 18, cooks for the family once a week.

On weekdays, the couple tries to schedule opposite shifts for themselves so that at least one person can be home with the kids. On the weekend, Martine batch-cooks and freezes meals that are easy to reheat or prepare. “I’ll make 40 waffles at a time,” she says. “French breakfast is sweet, not savoury.” There are plenty of homemade crêpes, jam and bread on hand, and almost everything they eat at home is made from scratch.

Instant noodles are a rare exception. “At the end of the day, we’re tired,” says Martine. But she levels up instant ramen by sautéing onions and garlic or adding a cracked egg and herbs on top. “We can’t just throw the noodles in the pot.”

Since Martine cooks French dishes at Restaurant Pompette, she likes to experiment with Japanese and Korean flavours at home, like scratch-made miso soup with dashi, tofu and mushrooms or okonomiyaki, a savoury Japanese pancake with cabbage and kewpie mayonnaise. “PAT Central and T&T are my go-to Asian stores,” she says. As for condiments, she adds Okazu Curry Miso to everything.

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They do stock many French staples, though, including fermented black garlic (“It’s very umami,” says Jonathan), chestnut cream (think smooth, sweet nut butter with dress pants on) and the pantry pièce de résistance: a can of snails waiting to be cooked in some of that butter.

Their tried-and-true meals during the week are typically one-dish dinners that are easy to share, like flavourful curries or a comforting cauliflower gratin with Béchamel. The family fave is spaetzle, a dish from the Alsace region of France, where Jonathan grew up, that’s somewhere between pasta and dumplings. “The pasta is poached and pan-fried in butter so it’s crispy on the outside,” he explains. Martine’s parents bring them turmeric and curry powder straight from Mauritius Island, but they buy the rest of their spices at Carlos’ House of Spice in Kensington Market. “It’s my go-to spice store,” says Martine.

If they’re ever stumped for inspiration, their favourite recipes are written on the fridge doors.

Their high-tech Thermomix is effectively a third cook in the kitchen. “It’s my best friend,” says Jonathan. The time-saving gadget can chop, sauté, blend and more. “Many Michelin-star kitchens in France have one.” Chefs like it because it’s so precise, and you can upload and save your own recipes. “It can cook a perfect risotto in 20 minutes,” says Jonathan. They especially love it for making sauces, like a hearty Bolognese.

The family celebrates aperitivo hour at 6 p.m. sharp every Saturday and Sunday. They’ll set out a board with cheeses from Nancy’s Cheese on Dupont Street, oysters from Fiesta Farms, and accoutrements like French olives, sardines or honey from Provence. “I saw a stat somewhere that couples who aperitivo together are less likely to split up,” says Jonathan. The kids love the tradition too and will have a mocktail with house-made syrup while the adults have a cocktail or a glass of wine. Martine loves a negroni or a Hotel Georgia cocktail while Jonathan adores a classic daiquiri with rum, lime and simple syrup.

Just like he did for the wine selection at Restaurant Pompette, Jonathan has curated his home selection with great care. “We don’t drink every day,” he says, “so when we drink, we drink good.” Their bottle collection is mostly items that you wouldn’t stumble across at the LCBO. They have a lively orange wine made by a good friend in the south of France, an easy-going Grenache from the Rhône valley and a complex Chardonnay made like a Burgundy. “Drinking wine at home never feels like work,” says Jonathan.

When they moved to Toronto from France, all they brought with them was the dining room table and their cookbooks. The extensive collection ranges from French classics to tomes on modern Nordic cuisine. “Auguste Escoffier is the chef credited with the organization of the French kitchen,” says Jonathan. They’ll turn to Escoffier’s bible, Le Guide Culinaire, for traditional French recipes. For a mix of classics and updated takes on French cuisine, they’ll consult Mon Répertoire de Recettes by Jean-François Piège, chef of the two-Michelin-star Le Grand Restaurant Paris. “The book is magic,” says Jonathan.

Creative vegetable- and seafood-forward dishes take centre stage in the Grand Livre de la Naturalité, a collection of the 120 recipes served at Alain Ducasse’s famous Plaza Athénée in Paris, along with desserts from renowned pastry chef Jessica Préalpato. For the ultimate wine encyclopedia, Mille Vignes by Pascaline Lepeltier, a Master Sommelier (and good friend of the couple), is their go-to.