Rocq Cafe Delivers French Flair

A Southern California catering company that serves food to high-end clientele such as the University of Southern California and Nordstrom has opened its first sit-down location in Lake Forest.

The small cafe, which opened in February at Lake Forest Drive and Lambert Street, is owned and operated by Chef Eddy Rocq and his wife, Deborah, of Ladera Ranch.

Rocq's eponymous cafe serves French-Italian food inspired by the couple's heritage, from quiche and paninis to an assortment of croissants and crème brulée.

Parisian-style macarons—pillowy, delicate affairs that differ markedly from coconut macaroons—are a signature item at the cafe, which has 18 flavors of the bize-size sweet, ranging from peach mango to chocolate ganache.

Gourmet cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma recently began distributing the classic French pastries by Rocq. A heart-shaped variety Rocq puts together by hand recently got a nod on Martha Stewart's online Bride Guide.

Rocq, who opened the Lake Forest Drive lunch spot about a month ago, said that Lake Forest residents have also been showing interest in the Lambert Street eatery since its opening.

"When people come for the first time, we usually see them again," he said. "We know people already by their first name."

The cafe is open from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. (Weekends are spent on catering gigs.) But Rocq said he is often on site as early as 6 or 7 a.m. during the week to bake the day's bread from scratch.

While catering is a more exciting enterprise for Rocq, he said that the cafe is more than a simple eatery in that it also serves as a cozy tasting kitchen for prospective catering clients.

"Even if the menu is affordable [at the cafe], the ambiance is high-end," he said.

Rocq has big plans for the eatery, including cooking demonstrations and wine pairings as soon as its liquor license comes through. Rocq also plans to open other sit-down sites in Orange County and possibly, Los Angeles. A second Rocq Cafe is scheduled to open in Tustin in June.

The cafe's inaugural cooking class is this week, from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Reservations are required and tickets are $55 per participant, for the lesson and for dinner. [See the menu for Wednesday's cooking class to the right of this article.] To make a reservation, call the cafe at (714) 488-6258.