The Caramel House Interview

Janet arrives with her case of goodies, she’ll be doing a delivery later.  She orders a tea, sits comfy yet poised on a sofa and makes fabulous eye contact.  She is unrehearsed and sometimes stops to search for just the right word.  She has a genuine presence, without a hint of pretense. (And I’m quickly learning that to describe a dessert artisan is to describe the dessert they specialize in.)

In her previous life Janet Shulman subbed at Wash U and wrote/taught a newspaper curriculum for children at Forsyth School.  On the bucket list was getting her masters, which, as such a diligent and passionate student, was done in record time.  All this was done with the hopes of getting on to teach more at Wash U, which never happened.  If it had, we would never have had this conversation…thank you Wash U.


Looking for a way to supplement income and being quite the domestic, (cross stitching, dinner party throwing, gardening, and big shocker…COOKING) she looked for things she did well and was passionate about.  She also was looking for something that wasn’t already being done by everybody else.  Eventually cooking won out.  The blondies, triple threat brownies, and granola were a hit with the ladies at the Women’s Exchange (the place that let her rent kitchen time).  However, a recent retiree had left a caramel void in their lives.  “Can you make caramels like she did?” was the question.  Ever the eager volunteer, her “can do” spirit could not be silenced!  “Sure” was the reply.  “I mean, how hard can it be?” she thought to herself.  “I’ve got grandma’s recipe and The Joy of Cooking to help me through.”   Well, as fabulous a cook as grandma was, the recipe didn’t work for Janet.  On top of that, the first three paragraphs of the caramel chapter in The Joy of Cooking spoke of heat and humidity being the mortal enemies of caramel­--not good.  And neither were the first attempts.  Janet’s description of this phase was very colorful and included the words “major disaster”.   At this point in the story I already knew she would succeed.  Not just because I’m nibbling on the success as I write this, but because the word “driven” seems to be laced through the story of her life.

In response to the famous question, “Which is your favorite?” she laughs and says, “I love them all, that’s why I make them”.  In truth, she cooks for the public as she would for her own family.  That’s why you’ll find no additives, preservatives or stabilizers.  What you will find are things she uses in her own home while cooking for her family.   Lockhead vanilla, Schlafy’s pale ale, Gus’ pretzels and like any good mom…bacon.  She chooses real ingredients, not powdered and canned.  I didn’t know real butter and cream make the pot boil up very high, so you have to make a smaller batch.  The fake stuff simmers so you can make a huge batch.  I also didn’t know that’s why some caramels are hard and others are soft, real ingredients make soft caramels.  That has forced a choice on her part.  The choice however, is clear.  Small batch, hand cut.  No, they are not flawless looking little clones.  But now is one of the moments Janet stops to reflect before speaking.  She closes her eyes before looking directly at me and stating, “But you can taste the love…  And that’s how I want it.”

There is plenty of love to go around in that heart.  Love of family.  I heard stories of how cooking, and therefore food, drew and still draw them together.  Janet speaks of how she hopes these caramels spark simple conversations in homes that need them.  Love of food, duh.  Love of St. Louis, all the local things she loves and supports.  Love of neighbor,  she volunteers so much I almost wonder if this is a charity disguised as a business so she has more ways to do more for others.  And not without self sacrifice.  She’s working overtime lately and caramel making can be downright perilous; I saw some burns and cuts for myself.  All out of love.  And as I nibble on my vanilla piece, I’m not sure if  I taste

her love of cooking or my love of caramel.

Janet’s life has had some distinct “aha” moments.  The day her caramels took over all baking, and caused a website overhaul.  The day she realized she’d figured out how to make caramel in St. Louis.  The baseball game that gave her the answer to “What’s missing from the beer caramel?”.  As she grows I hope the “aha” moments continue.  New flavors and a new line of sauces are in the works as we speak and she has just launched at some new locations (listed below).  A word of advice.  With all the love in the air, when you run into these hand wrapped little pieces of “aha”, be prepared to say “I Love You Too!”

                     

 Stay Sweet,

La Confectionista

Interview with "Oh Sheila"

 

 

   I was fortunate enough to catch up with Sheila Kleinshmidt, owner of “Oh Shelia! Chocolates”, for a chat.  She is the little lady that is shaking STL’s chocolate world.  You probably already know she is no ordinary chocolatier, and I won’t tell you how it all began.  That story has already been told, see for yourself at www.ohsheila.com.  I will, however, share some gems I picked up from Missouri’s homegrown “chocolate makin’ momma”.

One thing you pick up immediately as you talk with Shelia, is that her creations match her personality.  A step up from the norm, she describes her chocolate as a kick in the face compared to the standard “kiss”.  But she’s no elitist!  She taught me quite a bit about “Brown Happiness”, as I call it, and managed to engage me as a peer rather than make me feel like the novice that I am.

Gem 1.  Chocolate can be compared to wine; the nuances of various cacaos, the notes they pick up from the soil, and how they can play against each other to make something special if mixed right.  But as she talks, I almost wonder if she could be describing herself.  Various juxtapositions that just seem to work.   Her 50’s throw back look plays against an almost “punk” vibe, complete with tattoo. The mix forms a style that would make both Lucille Ball and any number of skater girls envious.  She’s a chocolatier who does all her own packaging, design, and marketing.  A “just so” perfectionist who prefers the natural look of chocolate, and yet is still learning to allow each truffle to “just be” pretty, and not be “cookie cutter” vain.

Gem 2.  When you’re working with a single component, the passion (or lack thereof) really shines through.  It is not like having a 4 course meal to hide behind.  This is raw.  And from the taste of things, I’d say her passion is strong, rich, and real, just how she likes her flavors.  In fact, she’s not really a “sugar freak”, but loves when the actual flavors really make a presence.

Gem 3. Real chocolates are not like some of the chocolate inspired candy you may be used to.  Many big guys add a waxy component to extend the life and alter the look of the finished product.  Sheila, and a growing number of other chocolatiers, let the natural characteristics speak for themselves, without covering them with too much sugar, milk, or anything else.

Gem 3a. Chocolate, real chocolate, is not designed to hang out on your 72 degree counter top for months.  Two weeks at room temp is about all you get.  However, a wine fridge will extend the life, being as it is the ideal environment for storing two of my favorite things; booze and sugar.

“Oh Sheila!” just launched in March and is gaining ground fast.  But there are no plans to go brick-n-mortar.  Quite content in her rented kitchen space, she is a part time chocolatier to leave plenty of space in her life for… her life.  Family lady and mother of three, the kids take priority.  In fact, when we parted she was picking up one from her first day of school.  So don’t expect to see these in the stores.  Since she doesn’t keep much stock on hand, she likes everything fresh, don’t call for a last minute crave.  Throw a party, host an event, or send gift boxes to get your hands on these babies.  That’s where Sheila shines most, custom orders.  Give her a challenge.  I wish I had a video camera as she gushed about a company calling her with the wines they would be serving.  They challenged her to come up with matching truffles.  Of course, I also wish I was part of her testing crew!  Check out her website for all the ordering details, www.ohsheila.com and keep your eye out, you never know where these lovely little “kicks in the face” will pop up next!

 

       

                     

Whipt Cream Interview

by
La Confectionista - 7/20/2011

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They say their story is boring.  I say it’s different.  It doesn’t begin with a recipe and a dream.  Lee and Carol’s story begins with being part owners of a space and a need to put a sustainable business in it.  It doesn’t start with a passion that grew into a business, but rather a business that’s still growing into a passion.  This, is the story of Whipt Cream.

A few years ago when the building that houses Racketman went up, there was space for a small business next door.  But what?  An Apple store?  An endurance training facility? Decisions, business plans, number crunching.  Then the idea of a bakery was pitched to the team.  The business plan seemed to mesh. The math checked out.  A runnable business. 

So with a few simple recipes, a unique flavor, a plan, and oh yeah, no pro baking experience, the couple, along with Pat Germain and their other partners, embarked on a journey that has today earned them a spot on RFT’s “best of 2010” list.  I know this because while I was there a large family from Illinois came in.  They had driven over an hour for these cupcakes and were buying them up like is was going to be their last meal. (that's some of the family to the right)


Their business comes from a place of logic, not emotion.  Lee says this is to their advantage, because they’re never so caught up in their own dream to change it to what works in real life.  They’ve grown and hired pro decorators, they’ve had focus groups in to tweak their products.  They’ve found a niche in custom cakes.  They’ve perfected their signature light whipped frosting, made of three ingredients- sugar, butter, and egg whites.  And they opted for taking the extra step of melting the sugar first so all you taste is smooth, light-as-air frosting, no granulation.



Yes, they say it’s business, logic, and math.  But there was no math in the eyes of the man who offered me a red velvet cupcake based on the “logic” of quote, “it’s just good”.  No math, just beaming pride.  And there was no logic in the hands of Carol, who as she talked to me, almost gave the impression she was just a novice muddling her way through.  But as I watched her work, I saw a pro who seemed liked she was born hand-rolling little purple fondant flowers.  Apparently, within the science, an art has been discovered. 



Where to from here?  Continue perfecting their craft.  Perhaps baking parties in the open kitchen space?  The new website will launch in the fall so I guess they will keep us all guessing.  One thing is for sure though, their math is yumsville!  Pat, Lee and Carol are there most days, so stop by and see for yourself.

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Stay Sweet,

La Confectionista

La Bonne Bouchee-Interview

An Interview at La Bonne Bouchée
La Confectionista - 5/20/2011

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 My first interview.  And it was just lovely.  I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Chef Oliver Leguet from La Bonne Bouche`e Bakery in Creve Coeur.  I've tried his goods before, and I must say the man behind the curtain is every bit a pleasure as the confections he creates. 

                                                         

  

      

If you read the website, it tells a bit about his background, so I see no need to recap that.  But, I will add in a few nuggets I found interesting.  Like when I asked him how it was he got to be in the states.  He leaned forward in his chair and told me, about 30 years ago, the then President of France made a new law stating no one could work more than 40 hrs a week.  What was to be a welcome release for millions became a chain restricting the free creation that was art, not work, to Olivier.  As I watched him lean back in his chair and describe the masterpieces he creates, I could tell cooking was clearly his passion, and it found him young in life.  Around age 10. He was number 2 of 10 kids on a farm, when he decided SOMEONE needed to make birthday cakes for the family.  So into the chef's shoes he stepped.  And from there it grew until he came to the states to spend more time with his first love.  But he didn't forget his roots, rather he brings his farming background into the kitchen and believes that farm-style work ethic is very important. No cutting corners, do everything the right/hard way.

 

       If you ask him about his ingredients, you would not at all be surprised to hear, "Only the finest will do..." you can taste that.  In fact when I got there he was in street clothes, having just returned from a local grocery store for fresh mangos. (he doesn't use them every day, so he buys them fresh the day he will use them)  I was tickled pink to hear of margarine, shortening, corn syrup, and most oils being outlawed in the kitchen, (you should see the distain in his eyes as he even says the word "Margarine") as well as buckets of pre-cracked eggs. (in my blissful ignorance I did not know such things existed.)  He tells me one time, when there was a problem getting good eggs, they HAD to use the bucket eggs for two weeks.  He literally shivered as he said in his soft French accent, "The smell is still with me".  You would also not be surprised that he had trouble pin-pointing a favorite confection to create.  He loves the challenge of improving the taste and the beauty of everything.  Indeed La Bonne Buche`e is one of the few bakeries that has mastered the art of  "too-pretty-to-eat-but yummy-enough-to-scarf" ism; in a time when it seems most bakeries tend to go for one or the other. 

  

     

      What may be surprising is that Monsieur Olivier is a bit of a chocoholic.  His favorite confection to eat is the Sacher torte, or almost anything that has “ganache” in the description.  And in all honesty, when he was asked what his favorite part of the whole thing is, he surprised me again.  I guessed he would say decorating beautiful confections, or owning the shop and cafe so he could oversee the details, or something like that.  I was wrong.  It's the people.  The looks on their faces, and knowing they will return again and again because they are getting something special.  The connections he makes with those that enter his abode makes them more like family than customers.  He even introduced me to one of his regulars as we were finishing up.  I wish I had a picture of both of their faces.  And what does he hate the most?  Besides ever telling a customer no, he doesn’t like when things don’t go as planned, technical difficulties and what not.  But as a business owner, “You must take stresses with a smile” he says.

      So what are the plans for the team at La Bonne Buche`e?  There's talk of expansion, but not chains.  No, the chef would like a more french style bakery.  "What is that?" I asked.  Well apparently, the French don't like to rush. (That alone make me want to move there.)  That applies to picking out their yummies as well, so the cases face the street in a real French bakery.  This both intrigues passersby, and lets them linger over the offerings so they don't feel rushed to choose when they're at the front of the line.  He does not like his “family” feeling rushed.

 

      Last but not least, what are Olivier’s tips for the home bakers out there? Never short yourself by using just what’s laying around.  Use the best ingredients you can, every time.  Go get the good stuff, the best ingredients make the best dishes.

And that folks was it.  Please check the reviews page for my take on the pastries at La Bonne Buche`e.  And go check out their selection for yourself, there’s so much, it will take me forever to get to it all.