Many a time, when I dragged myself from my warm bed on a winter morning in elementary school, I was spurred only by the promise of the lovingly made breakfast downstairs.

In high school, when breakfast was rushed, if not skipped entirely, and meticulously planned lunches became a rarity, I realized for the first time the importance of good and consistent diet. Without food, I was constantly tired and lacked focus.

I can’t imagine having gone through elementary school without the meals provided for me or the means to provide them myself.

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The first time I heard Charles Bédard speak about his life, it brought me to tears. He spoke of his childhood, of his earliest motivations to study martial arts, and of the pieces of his heart he has given to his students over five decades teaching ju-jutsu.

Bédard, 70, has returned to the dojo, or martial-arts school, to preside over the examination of two candidates, young men ready to join a long line of black belts who owe their art to him. A diminutive man, Bédard has snowy white hair and his eyes twinkle when he smiles.

He is popular with everyone, even the littlest children who come to the dojo. Patriarch of this lineage of martial artists, he has a way of fading into the background and observing quietly. He moves slowly and with purpose.

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I am always looking for somewhere to write my articles and correct my students’ work, a quiet, comfortable place that serves great café au lait with a few extras, where the music is mellow, customers say “good morning,” and where I can settle in with the morning Gazette.

And I’ve found it — at Sherbrooke and Harvard in the heart of N.D.G. What’s inside is written on the window: espresso, patisserie Grecque, salads, tisanes biologiques, yogurt glacé. And smoothies. And everything is made on the premises.

“I create communities,” says John Zampetovlakis, owner of Kokkino’s. As I sip a superb café au lait, a customer walks in and John says: “Tell me your story.” As I munch on an all-dressed bagel sprinkled with olive oil (John’s amazing concoction), he explains more about how his homey little resto works.

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