When the coronavirus closed or limited area restaurants this spring, a number of local pastry chefs took the opportunity to mix up some independent projects.
At the start of the pandemic, Annelise Linton, the pastry chef at Bacchus, was out of work and looking at an unsure future. She baked just to keep herself busy — until her sister-in-law asked her to make a cake for a co-worker.
“It reminded me how much I loved the detail and patience it took to do those kinds of things,” she said.
Other orders came, and the Spotted Rabbit Bakeshop was born. Linton now does mostly custom orders, but also tarts, mini bundt cakes and some holiday offerings.
“My ultimate goal is to be able to sell a variety of Czech pastries. I grew up with my grandmother making things like that and would love to put my own twist on them.”
The pandemic also provided a spark for Rocket Baby Bakery pastry chef Allie Fisher. Her solo venture — Matilda Bakehouse -— is something she thought about for a long time.
“When everything shut down in April due to COVID-19, it really changed my perspective on what is really important to me and what I wanted to do in the long run with my career. These are hard times for so many of us in the food and service sector.
“I decided the best way forward was to take my technical training, experience, creativity and energy to grow something from the ground up. The objective with Matilda is to spread joy with great desserts and bakery. We think everyone can use a little joy right now,” Fisher said.
Matilda Bakehouse offers custom cakes and decorated cookies. It also has a seasonal menu that changes every couple of weeks and offers items like cookies, bars, galettes and travel cakes.
Fisher is also focusing on desserts or pastries that she loved growing up. Her peanut butter crunch bar, for instance, is a fudgy brownie topped with a mixture of caramelized puffed rice coated in rich dark chocolate and peanut butter.
“Matilda has also increased my love for cookies, whether it’s our brown butter cookies, our classic chocolate chunk or our gluten friendly chocolate fudge cookies, I love them all!
“The menu is very comfort driven. We certainly hope that our offerings will remind customers of fond memories from childhood or family or friends,” Fisher said. “The opportunity to share something delicious with new people is very exciting.”
While Linton is also enjoying the new opportunities, she still misses things at Bacchus.
“The biggest thing I miss is that consistency and human interaction. My pastry cook and I used to joke we spent more time together than we did with our significant others, and now it’s a whole lot of time with myself. I mean, I’ve always been kind of an introvert and enjoy spending time alone, but when that turns into all day, every day, it gets kind of old,” she said.
Plus, working on her own comes with a unique learning curve. “When you don’t have service to work toward or a guiding post besides your weekly orders, it can get a bit strange and slow at moments. I feel like I’m still in this weird transitional period and finding my footing for a daily rhythm,” Linton said.
Fisher also sometimes misses her old routine. “It’s been nice having that extra time to spend with family and friends, but sometimes I just feel really lost about how to get back into a feeling of normalcy."
Regardless of how things turn out, Linton said she’d like to continue with Spotted Rabbit in some way. And Fisher plans to continue “full steam ahead” with Matilda Bakehouse.
“Our hope certainly is to grow a customer family and then look for the perfect space in Milwaukee,” Fisher said.
Early inspirations
For Linton, the road to the Spotted Rabbit started in her high school culinary club. Her teacher eventually encouraged her to apply to the pastry program at Johnson & Wales University.
She had plenty of support at home, too. Her dad showed her how to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch, and both her grandmothers were avid bakers.
“One of my all-time favorite treats to make was my Grandma Linton’s whoopie pies. She had this fluid movement, and everything she did was so deliberate and graceful, (it) was awe inspiring to me. I thought she looked so confident not even having to look at her recipe since she’d made it a thousand times. I loved learning from her, because she made it exciting.”
Linton’s first restaurant job was Lake Park Bistro when she was in college. She applied for an internship and ended up working there on and off over the next couple years. She did her final internship in Omaha at a small fine-dining restaurant.
After graduation, she came back home to work at Rocket Baby. She went to Ardent a year later to work with a former co-worker. After leaving Ardent, she took a break from restaurants and helped launch the pastry program at Stone Creek Coffee. But, after less than a year, she was back in fine dining at Bacchus.
Fisher studied at The French Pastry School in Chicago and worked for the SURG Group for a few years, then helped to open a restaurant in Lake Forest, Ill. She moved back to Milwaukee in 2013, working for the Bartolotta Restaurants as the pastry chef at Lake Park Bistro and Bacchus. She moved to Rocket Baby to have a more balanced work/family life in 2016.
Like Linton, Fisher started baking young. She began when she was 3, and never wanted to do anything else. “I baked with my mom a lot when I was little. Then, as I got older, I baked elaborate birthday cakes for all of my friends. Baking was definitely my escape and stress reliever in high school,“ she said.
Mailda's Bakehouse can be reached by email at info@matildamke.com or at @matildamke on Instagram or Facebook. Spotted Rabbit can be emailed at spottedrabbitbakeshop@gmail.com and is on Facebook at @spottedrabbitbakeshop and Instagram at @spottedrabbitmke.
Best of Both Worlds
While Sarah Mironczuk is still employed as the executive pastry chef at Hospitality Democracy (AJ Bombers, Blue Bat Kitchen, Holey Moley, Onesto and Smoke Shack), her work life has changed. Holey Moley is on ”a little vacation” and Hospitality Democracy has downsized the staff.
It is now just Mironczuk, her full-time lead baker and Onesto’s pasta maker. They have created a new outlet for their pastries, called Piccino — a cafe window stop at Onesto, 221 N. Broadway, that offers Valentine coffee and breakfast pastries.
“I currently wear many hats! I am also the general manager for the cafe, a baker, a dishwasher, a delivery driver. ... Honestly, I am doing whatever is required of me to get through this very interesting time,” Mironczuk said.
Also, with Holey Moley’s name and support, she has added celebration cakes to her personal repertoire. She also gave vegan cakes a whirl — an experiment, Mironczuk said, that did not go to well.
“I gave it a shot. Now it is something I am teaching myself to get better at. My hope is when we get to the other side of this, we can reopen as more than just a place to get doughnuts. More of a full-service bakery with more offerings. Fingers crossed.”
While she’s happy to have been working at Hospitality Democracy full time since April, Mironczuk misses her baking team.
“The bakery is lonely without you,” she said, giving her team a shout-out.
Mironczuk has been part of a service Industry team her entire life. Her mother worked in restaurants since she was born. She’s been a waitress, expeditor, dishwasher and bartender, and in the front of house. She studied at the Le Cordon Bleu in northern California.
But, when her first child was born, she decided she needed a new career — one she could mold and be proud of.
“I can't tell you exactly why I was drawn to pastry. I just understood it. It clicks for me. I am able to use all the skills I have acquired from every job I've ever had in this field. ... I love how every day is different. I am constantly learning new skills or mastering the ones I have. I know exactly who I am in my field. I am excited to see where my career takes me. It is still unknown,” she said.
She has worked in fine dining at c.1880 and the Harbor House. She was also the pastry chef at Rocket Baby for a year.
She helped open the Whole Foods in Wauwatosa and spent three years at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. She also did stints at Indulgence Chocolates and Beans & Barley.
While most of her new solo efforts were done with the support of Hospitality Democracy, one venture that she did on her own that she’s particularly proud of is participating in Bakers Against Racism. “It was so wonderful to raise the money for Love on Black Women. I also got the opportunity to network while making new friends.”
RELATED: Bartolotta Restaurants sets a date for the reopening of updated, 'vibrant' Bacchus restaurant
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The Link LonkOctober 06, 2020 at 09:00PM
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When the pandemic disrupted their jobs, some Milwaukee pastry chefs went out on their own - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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