The warm morning sun leaks through the front window at 5 a.m., illuminating the kitchen — and the heart — of Cou Cou Rachou. The kitchen stirs to life as the bakers greet each other, busying their hands with preparing the day’s pastries as they catch each other up with what is new in their lives.
As soon as the clock strikes 7 a.m. and the bright orange “open” sign illuminates, a crowd gathers around 917 Preston Ave., eager for their warm, buttery pastries, perfectly gooey chocolate chip cookies and exquisite quiche. Just a quick five-minute drive from Grounds, Cou Cou Rachou, a delicious French bakery, is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and has wine afternoons Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The mastermind behind such a community staple is Charlottesville native Rachel De Jong, pastry chef and Cou Cou Rachou owner. De Jong said that she first discovered her love for cooking as a child, sitting on a stool in her grandma’s kitchen as her grandma told her stories.
For as long as she can remember, De Jong’s family gatherings have always been two things — big, and full of food. She recalled how, at parties, the kitchen became a place of connection, where there was always something to talk about and something to help with. During De Jong’s childhood, she said that she could always be found baking something, whether it be cookies and brownies for her friends and family, or even cakes for birthdays and weddings.
After graduating from Western Albemarle High School, De Jong went to James Madison University for a business management degree. After two years, however, she realized that she was not closely interested in the business school’s focus on corporate work, and she decided to drop out to work at a bakery instead. Although she loved her job, becoming a professional baker never crossed her mind until her father suggested that it could be a fulfilling career for her. So, at 21, De Jong found herself attending culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. This opportunity gave her the chance to fall in love with the cuisine and to grow as an individual.
“Growing up, I was always pretty reserved and shy, and I think it was … an important time for me to be on my own,” De Jong said. “[I] didn't know anyone at all, and [had to] figure out school and figure out how to get around a city, and renting an apartment for the first time. And all of it in a foreign language.”
After Le Cordon Bleu, De Jong returned to the United States, where she worked in Gearhart's Fine Chocolates on Ridge McIntire Rd. before accepting a job as a pastry chef for the Inn at Little Washington. De Jong worked there for four years before accepting a position as a pastry chef in Nashville, Tenn.
Her time at Nashville did not come without challenges. She said she felt that the food service industry during her time there was cliquey and toxic. This was where De Jong decided what type of business owner she wanted to be — someone who fosters a warm and welcoming work environment. This lesson in leadership is one she has carried out throughout her time as a pastry chef.
“I didn’t understand. I was like, this job is really hard. We should probably just be friendly to each other,” De Jong said. “I learned a lot of what not to do … Nashville was a lot of learning, a lot of growing.”
In 2018, De Jong left Nashville to work for a French restaurant in Los Angeles, where she had a much-improved experience. She loved her coworkers, so much so that the chef she worked for was the inspiration for her future cafe’s name — Cou Cou Rachou, or, as he meant it, “Hello, Rachel.”
In 2019, De Jong moved back to Charlottesville, and two years later, she opened her own bakery — Cou Cou Rachou. Today, the bakery is cherished by employees and patrons alike.
One such employee is Cou Cou Rachou baker Grace Driver. Driver said she has loved working at the bakery ever since she began three years ago. With prior experience working in various other restaurants, she said she appreciates how much care De Jong puts into both running the business and maintaining relationships with her employees.
“Rachel cares about all of us,” Driver said. “She gets to know all of us. She works really well with all of us. We have like-minded people here that all just want to work well, and we all want to do well, and we want everything to be the best it can possibly be.”
Although Driver is earning her doctorate in audiology at JMU, she makes time on the weekends to work as a baker in De Jong’s kitchen. Driver said that she sees her job as a break from school, where she can spend time with her coworkers and do the things that she loves and enjoys.
Driver’s experience is not an uncommon one. De Jong commented on another baker who, even after moving to Richmond, still makes the drive up to Charlottesville from time to time to pick up a shift. De Jong said she loves the camaraderie between her employers and community members.
“Our baristas are now all friends with our regulars and friends of the bakers,” De Jong said. “Just a minute ago, one of our bakers who used to work here was in with her six-month-old baby and visiting with everybody, and we were just passing a baby around the kitchen.”
Even as a customer, Charlottesville resident Adriana Marchione said she can sense the companionship and love shared between coworkers in the kitchen.
“The kitchen seems like they're enjoying themselves,” Marchione said. “They're busy, but they also seem to be relaxed too and enjoying themselves.”
Marchione first discovered Cou Cou Rachou two years ago through word of mouth, and she now makes it a point to come every couple of months to treat herself to a fresh pastry. Between the welcoming atmosphere and the local flowers on each table, she describes the bakery as having a European touch mixed with a farm-to-table feel.
“You know about that farm-to-table, like that was a big thing in San Francisco, in the Bay Area. And I think that's true here too, where it's like you get the local flowers, or you get local produce. And so it has a homespun feel,” Marchione said. “Even though it's not super fancy, it has this kind of hip vibe or feeling [and] sense of comfort.”
Community is prevalent not only between the staff and customers, but with the sourcing of Cou Cou Rachou’s ingredients. Almost all the ingredients come from local sources. Cou Cou Rachou partners with places like Deep Roots Milling for flour and Sweet Song Farm, September Sun Produce, Bellair Farm, Shenandoah Valley Family Farms and 4P Wholesale for all produce, egg and dairy needs. For De Jong, these partnerships underscore just how open and friendly their suppliers are.
“I have a bunch of really sweet farmer friends now who will just sort of call me up on a random Tuesday and be like, ‘I have 30 pounds of strawberries. Do you want them?’” De Jong said. “So it’s just, it’s a really, really sweet, welcoming community.”
According to De Jong, this community is what has allowed the bakery to thrive. She explained how many moving parts there are to creating a business, and said she cherishes the business partnerships and friendships she has made throughout.
“I may have made the choices. [I] bought this table, but someone else brought the flowers,” De Jong said. “It's so much richer and bigger and better than I could have ever dreamed up, because it's so much more than just me.”
Amongst the crowd of customers ordering and sitting at tables to enjoy their pastries is the iconic yellow diamond-printed floor — one that De Jong has grown particularly fond of.
“I remember when we first put in the floors, the bakers came over to see it, and one of my bakers was like, ‘Oh, my God. It's like the sunshine is in here,’” De Jong said. “He was being goofy. But it sort of is like that. I think people find a lot of joy here in the kitchen, which is wonderful.”
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