THE PASTEL STORY
Hi! I'm Amy, and this is my bakery!
Pastel Bakehouse has been brewing in my mind for over a decade. It's evolved in that time: A build-your-own muffin bar shifted to flaky pastries, I considered multiple name options, and I rearranged my entire business model. But all along, I've known that a bakery is what I wanted to do.
European pastries play an influential part in my story as a baker. In Copenhagen, Denmark, I tried my first tebirke (pronounced tea-beer-kuh), a flaky pastry with a layer of almond-y buttery goodness inside, and topped with poppy seeds. I was never shy about my love of Danish baked goods- my host father often teased me about how much I loved our weekend tebirkes. I even convinced one of my friends to start a “Pastry Monday” tradition where we would walk to the neighborhood bakery for a sweet treat! At that time, a flaky pastry seemed like something that could only be purchased from a bakery, certainly nothing I could make myself.
After returning from studying abroad, I continued to bake muffins, cookies, and breads for myself and for family, always with an eye toward starting my own bakery. But then my husband and I traveled to Barcelona, Spain, where we stumbled across what is - to my taste - the best croissant in the world. A croissant THAT good can make you change your whole life around...and I did! Flaky pastries and laminated doughs became my new obsession, and they’ve stayed that way to this day.
In 2021, I had the chance to study at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, where I received a Certificate in Artisan Bread Baking. Throughout the course, I learned about the foundations of good bread and pastry, all while practicing techniques I’d only ever seen in books. Along the way, I even learned the name of the category of baked goods that I love - viennoiserie! Viennoiserie is a bridge between the delicate sweet confections of pâtisserie and the hearty daily bread of boulangerie. It includes treats such as croissants, cinnamon rolls, brioche, and danishes - many of the products you’ll see featured at Pastel!
In the past 9 years, I've had the opportunity to work in several commercial kitchens, each different, and each with its unique lessons about the foods and processes I love most. Additional travels to some of the best bakeries in the world have made two things clear: There is value in a well-made treat, and there is beauty in enjoying it with people you love.
Now - with Pastel Bakehouse - I hope to be a part of creating those moments for you and your people, too.
♡ Amy
