CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 16 Made in America: Part I

W W W. C R A F T BY U M H . C O M I am fan-girling hard on Simone Faure. Her Instagram is full of breathtaking pas- tries from breathtaking, showstopper cakes evoking Monét and Chanel to gold dust brushed chocolate covered strawberries and Bourbon Praline Macarons. Her shop, La Patisserie Chouquette, has been described as looking like a jewelry box and is something I’d expect to see on the Champs Elysee. If you stopped there, you would have a truly spectacular bakery, but look a bit closer and you’ll see the treasure that is Faure’s brainchild. Next to croissants, so perfectly laminated I could cry, are surprises like Poké balls and Harry Potter’s Snitch. Faure’s personality shines through in such a playful way that has made La Patisserie Chouquette a true original. How did she arrive here? Well, Faure, a NOLA native, left a career in nursing to pursue the culinary arts. She actually specialized in Kosher cooking, a specialty that took her to the kitchens of The Ritz-Carlton. A transfer ultimately brought her to St. Louis, where she worked as the Kosher pastry chef. Eventually, wanting to start a family and needing normal hours to do it, Faure started La Patisserie Chouquette. Lucky for us, no? Want to find out why I think Simone Faure is one of the most delightful people in pastry? Check out this Q&A! What is the most fun you’ve ever had in the kitchen? I once got to create a Wonka themed brunch for 400 guests at the Ritz with my team and it was truly magical. Most fun yet! What are your three favorite ingredients to bake with and why? It’s gonna sound nuts but, fresh mangos, dried figs, and common sense. Yes, common sense is an ingredient. Much like salt, it should be used in all baking and much like vanilla, you can never have too much on hand. What was your biggest baking disaster? Ok so, picture it, New Orleans, 2007. I just finished piecing together a chocolate rep- lica of the famed Golden Gate Bridge. I KNOW, RIGHT???!!! Anyhow, I place the bridge on top of the groom’s cake with a heart and arrow that reads, “I found my heart in San Francisco.” Cute and corny I know, but hey, it’s a wedding. I’m really running behind on time, and I still need to put the finishing touches on the actual Wedding Cake. STRESS!!!! One of the pastry cooks at the time, Amanda sees me freaking out and offers to help. She’s going downstairs to the second floor storage fridge to grab cook- ie dough, so she offers to take the groom’s cake down there because not only is that the fridge where we store the finished wedding cakes but that particular fridge is just outside the ballroom where that wedding will be held. Perfect, right? Not so much. I’d never let anyone transport a cake for me before and my gut was speaking to me in that

CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 16 Made in America: Part I | Page 94