Welcome back to The Truth in His Art. These are conversations connecting arts, culture, and community. These are stories that matter, and I am your host, Rob Lee. Today, I'm excited to welcome my next guest, an award-winning pastry chef whose work blends nostalgia, sustainability, and artistry. She honed her craft at the illustrious Johnson & Wales before making her mark in some of DC's most renowned kitchens. In 2024, she was named pastry chef of the year by Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.
Nowadays, she's leading the pastry program at multiple standout spots in the DC metropolitan area, including the Duck and the Peach, La Colina, and more. Please welcome to the program, chef Rochelle Cooper. Welcome to the podcast. So for starters, before we get to the main discussion, Rochelle, I want to ask you to introduce yourself in your own words. I find a lot of times, you know, I'll have guests come on, and then I'll have these really well-written, well-thought-out, but sometimes the essence of who they are is missing from those online description, those bios.
Someone's wearing a nice shirts, professional photo, but it's missing the essence of who the person is. So I'm going to give you the opportunity to introduce yourself in your own words, and if you will, could you share your favorite early memory from the kitchen? Sure.
Thanks for having me. My name is Rochelle Cooper, and I'm the pastry chef at the Duck and the Peach, La Colina, and the Wells. And I just love what I do. I get to play in kitchens all day, which is a dream come true. And my favorite early memory of baking is that my mom, we used to make this thing she called Fruit Pizza, and it was a chocolate chip cookie, like in a sheet tray, and we'd spread like a cream cheese frosting on top, and then it would get all different fruits, and we would just decorate it with different designs, like for the 4th of July, we'd do an American flag, but sometimes we'd get carried away with it and have fun and make cool designs, and then it just gets like an orange glaze on top, and we made that for a lot of holiday parties, and I just love the creativity with it. It's fun. That's really cool. I've been exploring more and more fruit recently, so we may have to trade some notes on this Fruit Pizza idea right here. I like this.
I like this. So how long have you been in the industry? How long have you been in hospitality, food services, pastry chefs? How long have you been in that industry? How did you get into the industry? Well, I took interest in it because I did love baking as my mom, but also I had a cousin who she did wedding cakes, and I kind of saw her starting her career as I was getting into looking at what I was going to do with my life, and to be honest, I wanted to be a doctor because I love great anatomy and I thought that would be my life, but I did an internship at a hospital and that didn't go so well.
I ended up on the floor a couple too many times because it's like not for me. So I saw my cousin was having fun doing like art on the wedding cakes, and it was at a bowl, and I thought that was a great way to spend my time, and got into it, went to Johnson and Whales culinary school, and then found my way to DC. I've been in DC for about 10 years now, and I'm really loving it. I love the city. I love the culinary community. It's having honor.
That's great. I'm based in Baltimore. I've been in DC each of the last three weekends, and I will say, I try to find, I'm a foodie, so I try to find the places that have the good stuff, and I try to get satisfied and a certain curiosity.
I will say, DC has been impressing me recently when it comes to the food because I'm a little snob when it comes to the food sometimes. I was just there this past Saturday, and I went to an Indian restaurant, and I got a dessert, and it was like a chai from Brulay, and I was like, all right, that's interesting. There's the combination there, and I was between that and the truffleches. I was going to get the truffleches, and then the chai from Brulay came out, and the waitress was like, oh no, you ordered the other thing, so I'm just going to bring that out, too, and we're copying you for both.
I was like, well, I get to try all of this, and it really indulged. Both of those desserts were unique and interesting, and I think being down there in DC with so many different cultures, at the Embassy Jebs, sort of this transient city, it's so many different influences that show up in the cuisine and in the culture. Yeah, actually, I agree with you on that, and I've been beginning a dessert tasting series to kind of highlight that. There's a lot of pastry chefs with different backgrounds, or there's a lot of, like you said, great restaurants with different cuisines to highlight, so what I do is I, we get whisked away, that's the name of the series, and I partner with different chefs, pastry chefs, to do a little dessert tasting, which isn't what it sounds like. It's not just like eating dessert after dessert. We kind of start with the lighter, more favorite things, like breads and other things pastry chefs have hands in, and then we move into the sweets later and get a little bitty bag and stuff like that, but I think it's really important to connect the community and connect the cultures, and so that's what whisked away is about.
It's my new project, and I'm really excited about it. That's really cool, and as a person that throws out puns in conversation, I noticed that one right there whisked away. This isn't that something. You're whisking? Yeah. I like the title. It's good.
Thank you. So you mentioned a bit on how you got started in the industry, so going back around that time, was there a particular moment or maybe a mentor that really made you want to pursue like pastry, and I say that in this way, before this reason. I think folks who are creative, they're creative.
They're going to find a way to do something creative. I've shared in this podcast before that I wanted to be an illustrator when I was younger, and now I'm in year 16 of doing podcasts and finding different ways to play with audio and explore that. So we have our mentors. We have those conversations and those moments that maybe shift us. So for you, was there a mentor, was there a person that you had the conversation after you feel less sort of like, hey, I want to be in the medical field too? No, I don't know if this is going to be for me.
I'm hitting the floor a little too much here. What was that conversation like, or what was that experience? Was there a mentor that said, you should really pursue pastry? I wouldn't say there's like a singular person in my career that I constantly go to.
I'm very much into like the networking and the keeping the connections. Even though time has passed, reconnecting with the folks that are part of my past and kind of reengaging that conversation, I would say when I was in culinary school, I did want to own a bakery originally. And then when I took a class on a sensory analysis of plated desserts, and then another one that was kind of in tandem with that was neoclassical plated desserts. And they were with my two favorite chefs at the time, Mark Soliday and Chef Kristina Harvey. And they both kind of showed me that not only is plating about being artistic, but there is a dance between flavors, textures, temperatures, seasonality, color.
Like there's, it's like, I was listening to some of your other podcasts and I was hearing about the artist's speak and stuff and how they compose something that's either 2D or 3D. And I feel like food on a plate can be like 70. Like there's just so many different avenues to go. And I think there's so many chefs with so many opinions and insights on that, that to just have one person influence you is not enough. Like currently, I work with Chef Caterina Padonino and she is the perfect partner for me.
We bounce ideas off of each other. I'll have her taste something and she'll be like, no, let's get this part. What about we use this flavor, but in a different texture?
Like I need something gooey. And, you know, it just, it works. And she kind of like pushes the right buttons to activate the right recipes in my mind. And I feel like she's been the most current inspiration in my dessert success.
And she really helps me bring it home for a home run every time. But there's so many people who've influenced my career over the years or through their opinions, I couldn't even begin to list them here. I just, I keep everyone in touch. People say I know everybody and it's because I do, because I just really love to stay connected with people.
And the part is the conversation constantly. That's great to hear. You know, I know how important it is, staying connected with folks and realizing that one success, one sort of, you know, direction of where they're at, it's never just like this sort of monolithic thing.
It's never just I did this all on my own. It's like, sure, maybe, or, you know, there's folks that have been there along the way that's giving you some point or some direction. And, you know, I recognize that in doing this, like I'm appreciating you coming on and spending some time being a part of this series. And, you know, the series is over 800 interviews. I can't sit here and talk to myself over 800 interviews.
It gets boring. I know what I think, you know, but being able to have different folks come on and share sort of their experience and their insight. One, I'm going to be picking your brain about like, all right, so where should I go?
Where should I try? You know, what do you got? And then sort of and then sort of being able to just connect dots. So like, in doing this, being in Baltimore, spending time in DC, spending time in Philadelphia, spending time in New Orleans, there's a sisterhood between those cities. So if I can connect someone, that's how I think that's important.
It's like building this network, but I prefer the term community a little bit more than network. So moving into and it's almost a good segue, right, from that previous question. So, you know, so I've, you know, I spent some time, you know, on the, the socials and I believe I came across your work initially. I think I was following something at Kalata shop. And then I was just like, all right, I'm what don't like the rabbit hole. And then I saw maybe a post or something from you and I was like captivated. Your desserts are art in my opinion.
And they're just, they look gorgeous, you know, and I'm sure they're tasty even amazing. I need to book some time. So in that vein, could you paint a picture for us? Like, what does a typical day or typical week look like for you? Like, I imagine some of the responsibilities of balancing, you know, work, being a new mom, balancing like family life has a unique rhythm.
So can you, you know, speak on sort of that and how does balancing that influence your day to day? Well, it's just me and my one cook right now, Marilyn. She's incredible. She's my partner in crime. We've been working together for like, my gosh, probably over four years now. It's great. And we read each other's minds.
It's really cool skill that you've developed. But we start the day together, kind of just going through events first, you know, we have a lot of events that we do. So there's like clipboards full of banquet event orders that we comb through and make sure we get everything that is page related on our list. And then we go through a giant exelcies that I made of everything that we make. And it's a lot.
It's two pages and it's very tiny print. So we go through everything on the list, check all the means and plus in the fridge and, you know, make sure we have everything on the list that needs to be made. And then we sometimes we cabinet and then we go to town.
And then we, we kind of blow through the prep list. If there's days that are a little bit lighter, I'll definitely take advantage and go on some creative journeys. I usually have a list towards the bottom of our list of like things I'm trying to incorporate into new desserts, or if things are coming off the menu, kind of getting a plan together on how to turn it into ice cream for ice cream shop. If I don't have an idea right away, I might like freeze it, kind of hold it for rainy day, or, you know, some way to just preserve it jam, things like that. And then later it might end up in a pastry in the pastry basket, or it might end up in ice cream shop. But everyone's always asking me, like, how do you come up with these flavors?
How do you come up with these amazing pastries in the pastry basket? And I was like, it's just like sustainability. It's like, I don't want to, I don't want to waste things. And so when there's something in the fridge that, you know, people are done using it and got to go somewhere, I'm like, jam it up, you know, like, let's go. And we find a way to use it. And I mean, I even take things that I can't use anymore, like syrup from like poaching things and stuff like that. I give it a sip of bar. So it's kind of like this ping pong ball of the day where I'm just bouncing around, you know, making sure things get that are priorities and then, you know, finding ways to use stuff and getting ahead for the weekend and making connections with the front of house, making sure everything's going well, helping out when they, when anyone needs it.
Because I'm, because I'm also a manager on the team. And so I'll run food, I'll expo, you know, whatever the kitchen needs. And then when the day is done, I go home and I see my baby and he's usually like, hi, when I come home. And then he's like dancing and running around. And I just like, I melt and I do that. And I made popsicles for him. So we'll share a popsicle. And, you know, I try to make him healthy.
I use like yogurt and like fruit and stuff. But sometimes I will figure why not, you know. And, and we have a good time.
That's, that's great. And I love that you touched on sort of the, the scope of it and having that balance that's in there, because that's the thing that gets lost. I find a lot of times folks that are pursuing anything. And I, and I find like the restaurant industry, industry and sort of the culinary industry is taking like some hits and in recent years.
And I mean, right now eggs are a thing and you know, a lot of these things have eggs. And I say all of that to kind of make the point that sometimes those jobs and so that you could take it home and having that balance and having that cut off point is I love talking to chefs. I love talking to folks because there's a certain kinship there. Like I'm a foodie, but also I do some stuff in the kitchen. So being able to be able to relate and then also have an appreciation for what it looks like and an appreciation for what the effort is and knowing that there are sacrifices in time.
So having that balance and really prioritizing that is important. And also the, the point that you made about sustainability, I was just like, she's saying, she's saying the thing. She's put it in jam. She's put it here. She's using it for other purposes. That's, that's really important.
And I love when someone does a unique thing to maybe stretch an ingredient, repurpose an ingredient or find just unique ways perhaps to maybe solve a problem or adapt. Yeah. I mean, it was really about adapting when it came to ice cream shop.
We got hit with that Omicron thing during COVID. And we had to very quickly at the end of the year, I remember distinctly it was like around Christmas or New Year's because I had all the desserts like getting ready for that. And, and then we shut down indoor dining and none of my desserts translated to to go. They were just like they had ice cream. I mean, it was just, or they would melt like it was, I was, I was like, you know, what the heck am I going to do? And, and so we also had a cafe in the morning that had like coffees and stuff.
And I remember seeing like, I don't know, 12 gallons of milk in the fridge that was ready for that weekend for brunch. And that wasn't going to happen. And it's not like people who come in for brunch and get coffee are going to just walk around the corner during COVID, you know, and get coffee, you know.
And then we quickly pivoted to doing to go packages for people. And they had bought these eco friendly, like pint, larger than a pint, like a quart ish container for chicken soup. We love eco friendly containers, but sometimes they're a little too eco friendly.
And the chicken soup and this container did not go well. So we had 500 of them of these like brown like cards, craft containers. And I'm like, I'm seeing the milk, I'm seeing these things that look like ice cream pints, and looking at all my dessert prep, and I'm like, I got it. And so I, I mean, I don't know, I was making desserts for like the to go packages, out of what I could. But then I was like, everything else, I was like, I'm not going to try to make something that's supposed to be beautiful look like a mess in a box.
So I was like, right. So I just, I blended, I cooked, I made, I did all the things. And I made really cool flavors. We did like, give me some more with the lemon curd. I don't even remember what flavors and desserts from the menu back then we went, I went up and I made like, I don't know, there was at least 422 quarts of ice cream base.
I leaned in hard, I was like, this better work. Otherwise, we're going to take all this ice cream home and we're going to eat our few. So I went to town, made all this ice cream.
And then I put everything online. I took pictures of the ice cream kind of like billowing out of the container, which you probably seen on my Instagram, because I wanted it to look like I need this, right? Like, I'm, like, I'm sick or I'm sad or I'm in quarantine and I need this ice cream. And I was like, I'm going to make it look like you need it. And then I posted them all on my Instagram and we promoted it. And then, boom, like, every other order was like a chicken package to go. And then like a pick three ice cream, pick three ice cream, pick three ice cream. And it was just moving. And I was like, wow, like, what a great way to make your stuff doesn't go to waste.
So, you know, keep the business supported with something that people really needed and wanted. And I made my ice cream without heavy cream. So it's a little bit lighter.
So if you do end up eating that whole pint plus, because they're 26 ounces, you won't regret it as much. So, you know, just have a good time with that. And it's been a great outlet. And after my grand kind of like fiddled away, I asked Hollis and Kat, I was like, can I just keep doing this because I'm having a great time.
And this is a great way to use up extra cookie crumbles, you know, whatever. And, and, and they said, yeah, go for it, whatever. And as long as it keeps going, as long as people want it, you know, great. And so now it's just a part of our routine. And I really love it. And we, it's a creative outlet for my cooks too, when we've had different cooks come through, you know, they're like, well, what if we did this, Jeff? I'm like, great, do it, make it, let's go. You know, it's been great. If you crave it, someone else should, right?
Yeah, it's really tight. I have, I've had in this five years and doing this podcast, I had like two collaborations, one with a now defunct or rebranded, I think it's defunct, so dessert brand, I had a dessert waffle that I kind of help co-produce and basically just a creme brulee dessert waffle, but it's like my branding, it's my sign off. And, and people were going there getting it's like, yo, I need that truth in this art like waffle. And I was just like, yes, yes, get it, keep getting it. And, you know, it's just something about that to your, your point around if the people, if the people like it, keep it rolling out and people were posting it, sharing it and really, you know, hitting me up hitting the maker of, you know, with sort of their reaction photos and so on.
And it just kind of showed me the importance of food photography. A lot of times that is the marketing way. I know a lot of restaurants and, you know, folks that are in the industry don't have those crazy large marketing budgets. So food photography and sort of that community oriented support the fans, if you will.
You know, the patrons, those are the ones that are, you know, supporting and showing their love and because they're being supplied with the thing that they like, especially during the time that you're describing. And even now, you know, food photography is so big. And I think having a good picture, I remember I had a friend who was doing food photography and, you know, the thing that you touched on as far as like something being a takeaway, it doesn't look as good when it's takeaway. And I would tell him, like, dude, don't take a picture of that. That's that takeaway.
It's not doing don't tag them, please, because it's not not doing them any service. Like maybe, maybe take it, you know, once it's properly plated or what have you. I was like, yeah, you're making this really good food like a depression meal.
Can we can we do something different? And I can I think it has a really strong effect, good food photography and so on. So that that period in which you're describing is their recent one, you know, where, you know, there was a image that you took of, you know, one of your creations that really went like viral that really hit what was that sort of response in every action like I, in my opinion, I don't think anything really went viral. But I mean, I do recall a picture that was taken of my lemon basil bar. It's like a lemon curd ice cream and it's dipped in like a green basil oil. And it has a little bit of hibiscus gel on it. There's another version I do that's the strawberry, but they both look really captivating.
There's flowers all around it that looks like a garden. I usually put it on like in that segue between winter and spring. Some years this year we are going to do it.
Actually, we're going to bring it back and people really love it. And the flavors are really great, but it looks really cool. And Washingtonian used the picture of it, I think, and as one of the main backgrounds for their top 100 restaurants when we were included in that group, I think the first and second year.
And because it was one of the things that people reposed, I kept seeing it everywhere. Because I'm on Instagram friends with all the chefs and stuff all over the city. So like everyone's posting if they were in the thing. And I'm like, oh, that's fine. And that was really cool to see a lot of people post in my picture, whether they knew it was mine or not. I was like, that's me. So that was fun. But I have done some really, or gotten some really great photos of my pieces. Into things like Starships.
I like want to contest with Valrona doing that. That was cool. And it's really cool to see other people posting your stuff. I really, it touches my heart. I still giggle like a little kid.
I'm like, oh my god, you know, it's crazy. But I really, I do the art in my lighting because I just love to make it captivating so that you want to take a picture before you eat it. You know, or it brings you like a memory of something like that. And I guess, I mean, the other thing, to be honest, like it's also good for business. Like you said, marketing, if you can get your guess to post pictures of what you're making to share, I'm sure people will be like, that's great. But as far as like value, you said earlier, like the egg prices are rising, right?
Like what can I do about that? I mean, sometimes you can charge more for things than you should, you know? But the problem is like, even though the guests know the eggs are more expensive, the value perception is still an issue, right? They're still getting the same dessert or the same brunch item for a higher price.
So what I try to do to make them feel that value in a way that's a little less tangible is through like the art or through the memory. So for example, I have a cake that has Saffrilla toffee sauce on it. And Saffrilla is one of my favorite ingredients in mine.
It's what they used to make root beer. And so it's like brown sugar, Saffrilla, vanilla bean, like this sauce is just so good. And people don't know like why they love it so much until they ask like, why is it that I'm tasting? They tell them, you know, it's that Saffrilla root that they used to make root beer. And they're like, oh, because like how many times when you were a kid, did you want a root beer?
Probably because it just said beer in it and, or it sounded cool. And you're a kid and you want something different than Coke or whatever. But, you know, I don't know a lot of adults who drink root beer but if they do great, that's awesome. But that was just one of those things like I wanted a root beer when I was a kid.
And then to have that flavor in there, it triggers that memory of something good, good times. Cause you were having a root beer with family. You were having it at the barbecue. You were having it at the ice cream shop.
Like tell me a pen, you had a root beer that was bad, you know? And so that's part of it. Like I'm taking you on a flavor journey, right? And so you may not know you're going there or you may not know why you feel that way. But I know and I think that's the value perception. Because at the end of the day, I'm really just selling you this, you know, little piece of cake with some sweet potato sherbet on top and this toffee sauce and some candied pecans. But at the end of the day, you're really getting something more, you know?
And that's that extra layer, right? The extra value you're seeing in things. And to me that's so important because I don't want anyone walking away saying, oh my gosh, I just paid $16 for one of Rachelle's desserts.
I got robbed, you know? I want them to be like, I just paid $15 for this dessert. It looks good, it tasted good, and I just felt good eating it. I might not know why, but I did. And I want people to feel that when they leave.
I want that to be the last impression. That's beautiful, it's great. You know, as I was kind of touching on the experience and being down in DC and going to a few of those places, like, you know, me and my partner were running into sort of this dessert hole we call it. Just like, all right, I see a dessert on this menu.
You want to have it, you want that to be the sort of cap of the night. And maybe we'll start doing dessert first. You know, like, can we see the dessert menu before we get to entrees? You know, just do it.
We're adults, we can make that choice. But, you know, kind of getting that last thing and getting something that just feels sort of uninspired, like I noticed and I kind of understand it based on some of the stuff you were saying. It helps me kind of understand why so many places have an ice cream on the menu.
It makes more sense to me now. But then some of the times, like, I'll see something that's just like a pie that doesn't feel like a pie. It's called a pie, but it's not quite a pie. And I just kind of leave a little, like, underwhelmed. It's just like, this is a good idea, but it's not the execution that I'm looking for. But hearing you describe, like, you want something that is evoking a memory. You want something that tastes good, that makes a person feel good. It's all of these really great things that it's just like, no, this is a good sensibility. This is what you want from dessert.
And, you know, when you were describing sort of sassaparola, I immediately thought of having root beer floats with my dad back in the day. It's like, yo, let me get that A and W. So let's do it. Yeah, yeah. I mean, every dessert, I always try to impart some kind of nostalgia with. I'm really excited about this new one I'm working on that's going to go on the menu on Friday. It's a, I call it chocolate trinitine, because it uses hojicha tea in the ice cream on it. And I wanted to create like a new trinity for a chocolate. Like there's the, you know, like chocolate caramel hazelnut or something like that, you know, or like chocolate coffee, this or that. I wanted to create like a new trio of flavors that is like, is my thing. And so I made a really dark 80% chocolate mousse. It's so, it has so much chocolate in it that it doesn't need gelatin, which I love, because that's one last thing, you know, people have to worry about.
Those of you who are vegetarians out there. And I pair it with a banana cake and a banana foster sauce, which like chocolate and banana, I know that's easy. Like that's going to pull memories. Like think about those fudgicles on the beach.
Like all that's going to work real well. And then I threw in this hojicha tea ice cream. Hojicha is a roasted green tea that tastes kind of like a smoky vanilla, is how I can describe it. But I don't even know it's as accurate.
You really have to try it to understand it. It's a really great Japanese tea that I've been in soup for a long time now. And we get it from teaism. And we just had a bunch of it. And I was like, oh, it's my favorite tea. Like let's go, you know.
And I was like, I don't know how to make this disappear real quick. And I'll probably have to order more now. But anyway, it's coming together in this really great dessert that I call chocolate trinity. And it's one of those things where like it's taking it to the next level.
It's bringing in the memory. It's got all the textures. There's like a gluten-free crunchy shell on the outside.
It's like a rice panko. And I mean, I really try to make things allergy friendly if you haven't picked up on that as much as I can. If I can't remove an ingredient that someone could be allergic to and it won't affect the quality, I'll do it. And so I've been working a lot on gluten-free things. And that's been my project this year to try to make the menu as gluten-free as possible. So that's been a good project. But yeah, you know, it's just kind of like every dessert is that speak to some memory that either I've had or that I know other people haven't got to have had, you know.
And that's tight. And I love hearing, I love hearing the creativity. I love hearing this approach. And as I wanna sort of shift into the last two real questions that I have, and I got some rapid fire ones, you know, as we've been going, I like when a guest, I like to let the guest cook, right? And as the guest cooks, pun intended, you can have that one. As the guest cooks, I'm able to build out more rapid fire questions.
So I got a few more of those at the end for you. But this next one, I just wanna get this sense from you to understand that community, whether micro community or even in the kitchen, it's really important. It's important when we're working together and when we're communicating. And as you touched on earlier, it's a psychic mind meld that goes on in the kitchen with you and your partner. How does collaboration and creativity like move and propel us forward from your perspective?
Creativity is about having your mind open to others, I think is the biggest thing. Always asking for everyone else's opinion, making sure everyone feels included. Like when I make new desserts, first I'm trying it on like the dishwashers and the cooks, the servers, the people who are serving the guests, they talk to them the most, you know? And then, you know, get some opinions from them and then go from there.
And then we go up the chain of command sometimes, if you will. But I mean, I guess a good example of this is I was working on my Ferrero Rocher dessert, which is my take on the Ferrero Rocher. And it's a hazelnut cake with like a chocolate, crunchy, Zanzia shell that's kind of molded so it looks like a wrapper. And then it's got a hazelnut, whipped hazelnut cremeau on top. And then I put some toppings on it.
So there's like some hazelnut frailine, there's some toasted hazelnuts, there's some gold leaf. And I was having one of my sous chefs try it and he was like, Steph, don't be mad. But like, I feel like it should get a potato chip. He's like, it just makes me feel like a neat potato chip.
Like I was like, I got you. And so they have this sort rib that had a sun choke chip on the menu at the time. And I ran around the corner to the past and I grabbed a handful of those sun choke chips and I threw them on there and it was perfect. It was like this savory note. It was that fried, thin crisp, as opposed to the crunchy like hazelnut, which is like a little like a different type of crunch, right? It was just another layer.
This thing has so many different crunch layers and textures is crazy. But it's like taking people seriously when they're like, I'm sorry, don't be mad. It's like, that should tell you that some good's gonna happen.
Like listening to people and really finding a way to use what they're giving you. Cause sometimes they don't know what they're trying to say, but you're just like pulling out of it. Like you're like investigator, like inspector gadget, like let's find it. And that's what I do is just really be open and like really let anything go. It's like just tell me, what do you think? And finding a way to like incorporate that while staying true to my own voice and self. Yeah.
That makes so much sense. And I love that sort of collaborative thing of getting like different taste buds and seeing what hits like when my partner makes something, I turned down my snobbishness, but also I'm very appreciative of someone doing that sort of labor of making something, putting something together. And she was just asked, she's like, I trust your opinion and sort of your palette and all of this, like what does this need? And I do sort of like this, but then this.
And it's like, this works, this works, this works. This is what I think could be interesting in there. You could also do this, you could also do that.
And it's not anything that's like, this is complete pterodilore, restart it. It's just more so like, hey, I think these are really cool options, but I think at its base and one thing comes to mind, like she made, I think for the Super Bowl, she made like a chili and she's not a meat eater. She's a pescatarian. So she's just like, you know, making us and see if you like it. And I was like, this is great. And she's like, do you think it reminds you of Manwich? And I was just like, well, yeah, and I love Manwich, but also, you know, this works in these ways. And I was like, I would have some heat there. And then I had something to go for like the next morning, like, well the next day for lunch. And I pinged her and I was like, yo, it hits differently the next day.
Those flavors are a bit deeper the next day. I see a bit more complexity in there. And she's like taking notes falling in a way handwritten. No, no, no phone out handwritten. And it's just something about when someone's gathering the notes and someone's receiving that feedback.
That's a collaborative thing. And it just sounds like the sun chokes. It sounds like running around. Let me get those chips real quick. How's that?
Does that work? Yeah, yeah. I mean, I was lucky they were there, but also it was just like, you know, taking everybody seriously is like really what I'm about. You know, no opinion isn't of value. Yeah. So here's the last real question. And, you know, I'm just listening to it. I'm getting and I'm understanding sort of this recognition. You know, you were named pastry chef of the year by restaurant association of Metropolitan Washington. That's a lot to say, but congratulations.
And what does that recognition mean to you? And especially in an industry that, you know, as I touched on earlier, it has had some tough years. I mean, a few years, butter was a little crazy. Olive oil was a little crazy. Eggs or diamonds now.
I see people like selling loose eggs like, they're going to trade you this for 10, you know. How does it feel to be celebrated, you know, sort of in the industry and then over the last like, you know, five years plus has been a bit of a challenge? Describe the feeling.
It's incredible. And like you said earlier, like I also became a parent around the same time. So it was very humbling. And this year's past years have been very challenging for me, to be honest, to like find that work-life balance, but also like being on a path where my work is getting a little more recognized. And, you know, with that recognition comes, you know, responsibility, right? Like now I have people coming in because of that.
I need to deliver. So I've definitely been like really more on top of the quality control and stuff. Ever since. And it's been good because it's been, I've been holding myself and my team more accountable and, you know, saying like, OK, we have a reputation now. Like we need to uphold it.
So it feels good. And I feel like we've been doing a really good job of that. But also I feel like a responsibility to, especially as a parent, a responsibility to like use my voice and this recognition for good. And so I've been doing a lot more work with charities and organizations, specifically Cookie Kindness Project.
I've helped. Create with a committee of pastry chefs and food bloggers that I work with to do me support different causes related to. Children and families that are underserved in our local DC community. And well, DC, BNV, you know, and. We hold about three or four cookie sales a year and sell them in order to make.
Raise funds for these these communities and help. But also, you know. I think it's really important to share that, like, you know, as a parent, I mean, I was blown away how much work it is, you know, and and I have a really good support system. So knowing that there's people that don't have that, like, there really needs to be more empathy and understanding for parents.
So I kind of. And during my speech, I said this, I wanted to employ other chefs, other restaurants, other managers to, you know, have that extra bit of understanding for parents, for people who are going to school, you know, kids are just trying to like get started out there, you know, and just try to. People are more understanding of others, you know, and what they're going through and be supportive, you know, if you can send them home with a hot meal that night, you know, so it's one of the things they have to cook.
That would be so special. And, you know, you know, just being understanding and helping your neighbors out, you know, really what it's about. It's great.
I love it. It's super important. And again, you know, just the messaging I'm hearing and the sort of points that, you know, I've heard throughout this conversation, it's I'm glad we're able to make this happen. And, you know, it's been some good will here.
So since I've established all of this good will in this conversation thus far. I can get to the bad part, the rapid fire part that everyone's scared about. Everyone gets real scared about the rapid fires. Nothing to be scared about. Oh, terrified. You should be.
No. So the way the rapid fire works is you don't want to overthink the questions. They're there simple questions, but they're fun questions. And they kind of give a peek behind the curtain of who the person is that we've we've talked to during this conversation.
And so the first thing that comes to mind, I don't want to overthink it. I got four of them for you. The first one. What is your color?
Purple. That's easy. OK. Say, we saw enough easy.
It's going to get progressive and harder. What are you currently watching? I have been watching and rewatching.
Nobody wants this on Netflix with Kristen and Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Hot Rabbi. Yeah, I think. Let's see.
Going back to something you said earlier in the pod. Fruit pizza. What fruit is pepperoni in this scenario?
Oh, kiwi. I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking the same thing earlier when you said it. And you mentioned the fruit pizza was like, I know she's going to say kiwi, but I'm still going to ask this question. Well, we didn't really do it. Like, like kind of make it look like a pizza.
I would say it was more like, here's a lot of fruit. Let's make it our part. It looks like make it our project. But usually we did like strawberries and blueberries, kiwis, bananas. Orange is but like star fruit would be cool. Yes, star fruit would be really cool. Yeah, like, you know, every morning I do.
That's Jen. Yeah, if I've been diving into the kiwi, I do like this kiwi blackberry combination is something about kiwi because I don't particularly like it. But I find the combination with a berry that's a little tart of flavor. The sweetness is a bit different. That and blackberry, that and strawberry, the general combination works really well. And I'll have like these micro blueberries that I'll throw on there as well. Just boliv berries in the morning.
That's just what I'm doing. Yeah, you know, farmers are trying to grow kiwis locally. Really? Like that's a thing now. Huh?
Yeah. OK, that's because, you know, as I'm getting more into it, like I'm starting to like them, it's just like the fuzz thing of starting to work around. Like I can't just grab a kiwi and eat it like I'm pulling a pin on a grenade. It feels weird. But, you know, as I just kind of just chew it, it's just like this has hair on it. This is fuzz. You know what I mean? You can't chew it. You can't chew it. It's OK.
So this is the last one I got for you. And, you know, the sustainability thing or sustainability practice within your work really makes me think that there's so many hacks and tweaks and tricks that you have. So I'm curious about just one fun fact, one hack or something that you would want to share to the folks listening. That just something common that they would probably have in their kitchen. And this is like, well, you know, if you use this, you can turn it into this.
I don't know. At first, like home cooking and home home things. I mean, I would hope people with their bananas are going bad. They're making banana bread or smoothies, you know, like.
But I don't know if that's like low hanging fruit. OK, OK. I see you. I see you. Well, but what I do when when I'm trying to be sustainable at home is I make popsicles.
I don't know why this is silly. My family, I will bring home ice cream. Like sometimes the price that don't get quite full and I can't sell them. I'll like bring some of those home for them and they won't eat it. They won't scoop it out into a bowl. I'm like, you guys, I'm bringing home number one goods right here and you won't eat it. But they will eat it if I put it on a stick.
And so. I bought these like mini popsicle molds on Amazon. And so I'll use I'll literally take the ice cream that's already perfect and fine and put it on a stick so they'll eat it. But now lately I've been getting into using like fruits and stuff and yogurt and fun things like that. Jan's like to swirl things together to make little popsicles that are a little more healthy for my son because he sees my husband eating ice cream pop and he's like, you know, give me, give me daddy. And so I'm like, let's give them the fruit one, you know, so I've been trying to make some pops for my kiddo and it's great because, you know, freezing fruit is a great way to preserve it. You know, people don't think about it or like, you know, sometimes you don't want to like make a smoothie like go on, get out the blender, get stuff, you know, build it together. But like if you make a smoothie and then pour it into the little popsicles, then you kind of have like smoothie for days, if you will. And then you don't have to like commit to a whole one, you know, that's just kind of like my parent hack of recent times. I guess I could put a little longer in it, but that's what I do.
No, that's a good hack. As a person who enjoys a smoothie, you know, try to make sure I keep, you know, keep this mask, keep this body mask, throwing in my protein. Like, yeah, protein on a go, you know, put it in a smoothie and bananas go weird really quick. And I do have the frozen first because certain things just aren't in season fresh. You know, you may want strawberries when they're out of season.
Frozen strawberries are pretty tasty, especially in a smoothie. That's a good point. Um, so that's kind of it for the day. You can do it.
You can start in the same protein popsicles. Collaboration. I love it. There we go. So that's kind of it for the conversation to, for the podcast today. So, but there's two things I would like to do as we wrap up here. One, I would like to thank you for, for spending some time with me and coming on to the podcast. We made it. We made it happen. And, um, and two, I want to invite and encourage you to, to share with the listeners. Um, you know, any of the social media website, this is the shameless plug portion. So anything that you want to promote in these final moments, the floor is yours.
Oh, okay. Um, well, you know, if you want to, uh, see what I'm up to, um, and what me and the other chefs at our restaurants are up to, uh, you can follow me at, uh, shake and bicker 2, 1, 9, S, H, A, K, I, N, B, A, K, E, R, 2, 1, 9, on Instagram. Um, and then our restaurants are second peach underscore DC. Lock, Alina underscore DC and the wells underscore DC, uh, to see what, uh, are my fellow creatives are up to. Um, and you know, you might find little touches of me in the savory section here or there in the bar, you know, just find in my way. Through the rest of the restaurant cause I'm nosy. And there you have it folks. I want to again, thank chef for show Cooper for coming on to the podcast and sharing a bit of her work, her story with us and for chef for show. I am Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture and community in and around your neck of the woods. You just have to look for it.
