Newport’s Un Petite Boulangerie

By: Kali Lamparelli
Posted In: Entertainment

What inspires a young woman with a B.A in English Literature from St. Benedict College in Minnesota to become the manager of a small bakery? Celia Hamilton, editor of a technical magazine, U.S. Pharmocoteia, was getting “tired of the office setting” when she changed her life. After arriving in New England, Hamilton went to the Connecticut Culinary Institute in Farmington to learn how to bake.

Later, when she earned her certificate in the culinary arts she began researching jobs. Her boyfriend, who is the copy editor of the Fall River Herald, wanted to remain close to Hamilton. She researched jobs in the area and happened to find one in Newport. She began her work for the owner a year ago and has been at the bakery for seven months.

Hamilton decided that she was young enough to make the job transition seeing as she had no children to support. She saved money and took a risk-one that keeps a bright smile on her face. Hamilton fell in love with the art of baking, stopped reading the great literature novels of all time, turned in her business suits and now dons a pair of jeans, an old t-shirt and a smile.

She traded computers and the monotony of office life for the scent of fresh bread, as well as, antique baking machines that, when improperly working, shoot black smoke everywhere and must be hit with a rubber mallet. All these little sacrifices equal the difference between being a suburban editor and becoming the manager of a small bakery in historic Newport.

Q:HOW FAR HAVE YOU GONE IN YOUR EDUCATION?

A:I have a four-year degree, a B.A. in English from the College of St. Benedict; it’s not a diploma it’s like a certificate. I went to culinary school in baking and pastry.

Q:WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE CULINARY SCHOOL? A:Connecticut Culinary Institute in Farmington, Conn.

Q:YOU ARE AN ENGLISH MAJOR NOW WORKING IN A BAKERY?

A:I tried the office scene, it was suburban D.C. and it’s a very tense, stressful environment to be in. I started out with a horrible commute everyday and I got to work and was more stressed out.And I thought I can’t do this forever. The pay was great, and the benefits were great. I had everything taken care of. I could have stayed there and been taken care of for the rest of my life. I just wasn’t happy.

Q:DO YOU FEEL MUCH HAPPIER NOW?

A:I feel happier. My parents worry about me still. I mean I am almost 30 and my parents still worry about what I am doing because here I am managing a bakery. shouldn’t I be making more money and have health insurance?

Q:WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS LINE OF WORK?

A:I used to be an editor and was kind of getting tired of the office setting, so I had the chance to go to culinary school and move up here so I decided I was young enough, I didn’t have a family. I had enough opportunity from my last job to save up money and I decided to go to culinary school just because I always wanted to.I had two choices to be really creative, either Providence or Newport and I got my job in Newport, so I ended up here.

Q:HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED AT THE BAKERY? A:Seven months, for the owner about a year.

Q:WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT WORKING IN THE BAKERY?

A:I like baking on Monday’s. I get to bake bread. I come in real early like 3:30 in the morning. It’s a skill not everyone can do.

Q:WHEN WAS THIS BAKERY ESTABLISHED?

A:The current owner has had it for seven or eight years. It was a bakery before that, a commercial bakery that supplied bread to the restaurants around town. Even way before that, I’ve had older people come in and tell me that it was a five and dime store.so it’s always been a business.

Q:WHAT MAKES THIS BAKERY UNIQUE?

A:We do a lot from scratch. We make our own bread from scratch. We really focus on quality which makes the prices more expensive but everything’s worth it.

Q:WHY ARE YOU OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, INCLUDING HOLIDAYS?

A:There’s always money to be made in the restaurant business around holidays.

Q:WHY ISN’T THERE A WEBSITE FOR THE BAKERY? A:I don’t know if he just doesn’t have the time or if he doesn’t know. He owns three businesses, he’s got a family that he’s really prioritized to spend time with and a couple of kids on the way…just one more thing he doesn’t have time for.

Q:HAVE ANY FAMOUS PEOPLE VISITED THIS BAKERY?

A:Yes. Mario Van Peebles and Richard Hatch have stopped by.

Q:DO A LOT OF PEOPLE GO CRAZY WHEN THEY SEE THE FAMOUS PERSON?

A: Mario Van Peebles was the only person here with an entourage of people. Richard Hatch, I think people in Newport are used to seeing him because he’s from Newport so it wasn’t a big deal.