4 posts tagged “the village baker”

They are lucky to have her! Mom and I will be going there for lunch soon, since they have a little cafe too.
She will kick ass as usual!! Not Mom, I mean Jewlz!

Speaking of kicking ass, someone needs to kick mine. I'm not real motivated lately to do any extra projects. So far I'm just keeping up with the status quo. I feel like I need to do more..........
I'm sinking in guilt and feeling like I'm in over my head. Where to start? If I pay Calvin that dollar, I bet he'll tell me.

And to prove I'm number one, my desserts were recently voted as "Best in Kitsap County 2008" by a reader poll in the North Kitsap Herald last week. No, the North Kitsap Herald is not the New York Times, and North Kitsap, which includes such famous locales as Poulsbo, Silverdale and Bainbridge Island is not a booming metropolis. But I can say I'm appreciated in this teeny tiny corner of the United States, which is indeed, a very nice thing. 

Of course, the North Kitsap Herald acknowledged The Village Baker as having the best desserts, and no reporter even bothered to ask if there was an actual person involved in the dessert making, and if this actual person had a name. But I am the person! I created the dessert menu, and made everything myself, from scratch and by hand. Of course, I can't do it without Jewlz. As referenced in previous posts Jewlz is a pastry chef's dream come true. She's MINE!!!!

If there's no Jewlz there's no kick ass desserts, because without her, I'm just half. Half of an awesome pastry team.

My employers, knowing that I deserved a little acknowledgement for this dealo in the newspaper, were kind enough to create a poster/ad that will hang in our Cafe......

Actually, I'm not much of a personal "horn tooter". I'm pretty happy just hiding in the kitchen making stuff. And when I hear that people love my stuff, that's kinda all I need. But the bad part is, when you're hiding in the kitchen you don't hear much from people......sort of a "catch 22". A couple other things worth noting are the fact that The Village Baker has only been in business in downtown Poulsbo for a little over one year. There are two other very well known and long established bakeries on the same street, and we beat both of them! Also, for most of my career, I've been known for the way my wedding and sculpted cakes looked......this time though, I've been recognized for taste.....something I've been trying for for a long time! As I've always said, it just doesn't count if something looks good, but tastes like crap. I strive for goodness through and through, WITHOUT using high fructose corn syrup. Well, not usually. 

Besides Jewlz, I must also not only thank the Academy, but the other players who made this all possible. Butter, sugar, flour, eggs, cream (REAL cream), and chocolate. Without these lovely high quality ingredients, I am but just another ding dong in a sea of high fructose corn syrup.

I have a cartoon hanging in my office. It is of two houseflies; one is a waiter, and one is an angry diner. The waiter fly is saying to the diner fly, "But Monsieur! Our chef would never substitute Shinola for the real thing!"

That's my philosophy too.....I only use the REAL sh*t! Thank you real sh*t, for making it all possible. And did I mention Jewlz? She is da sh*t!!!

Oh, and I got this in the mail today!

Muhammad wants you all to know that for a serious ass kickin' of the sweetest kind, just 

visit The Village Baker, downtown Poulsbo, next to the Marine Science Center!

Besides a butcher and a candlestick maker, every village needs a good baker. My village actually has several good bakers, but I'm a good baker too. Lately,
I've been a baker with no village to work in.

But not anymore. The Village called me in February actually. They were missing their idiot and were wondering if I might be interested in the job. I jumped at the chance and sped right down for an interview, 'cause if there's anything I'm REALLY good at, it's being an idiot. Luckily, they were also looking for someone who's obsessed with pastry and dessert, and hey, that's ME!!!!! Talk about a dream come true.

I am now one of the talented staff at The Village Baker in Port Hadlock, Washington, just 20 minutes from Port Townsend. Primarily a wholesale bakery with its focus on artisan bread making, they recently ventured into croissants, danish and pies too. Now that they are opening a retail cafe in neighboring Poulsbo, they needed someone to make other dessert items, like cakes, cookies, scones, muffins, tarts, french pastries, and yes, wedding cakes. That's my job....I'm the frou-frou pastry chef.....just like I've always wanted to be.

If you're not familiar with Poulsbo, it's a town across the Puget Sound from Seattle, Washington. Just take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, then drive about 15 minutes to Poulsbo, and you're there. Poulsbo is home to the world famous Viking Fest and many Scandihoovians such as myself. Now it's also home to the first Cafe location of The Village Baker (soon to be known as the best bakery on the Peninsula, if not the entire.......universe.). All right, maybe not the universe, but certainly the Milky Way Galaxy. Big opening is Mother's Day, May 13th. Stop by, won't you? Treat Mom to a frou frou dessert, or a fresh baked loaf of organic artisan bread. Or try a pie or a kick-ass danish.
We've got it all.....even eggless chocolate cake! Yes, you can also grab a cup o' joe or tea from our friendly counter staff and Longbottom Coffee and Tea Company. Really, The Village Baker truly is the best bakery in the galaxy, and I'm not just saying that because I happen to work there. It's home to the future Coupe du Monde competitor, Tyson Jenson, the head baker and manager at The Village Baker. Not only is he a kick-ass baker, he's also a part-time logo boy. The happy baker on our sign at the Cafe is our one and only Tyson. That's right, our sign features a REAL baker, not some hired model. That should tell you something about our ethic and authenticity, right?

Let's not forget about all the people that really make it all happen at TVB! There's Mo, awesome bread mixer and shaper, and second-in-command to Tyson at the special Tibiletti bread oven. There's Scott, who, by morning, runs a route delivering bread to one of the three counties we serve, then he morphs into the main bread dough mixer guy when he gets back from his route. Scott is such an easygoing guy, he makes other easygoing guys look like like major stressballs. Every place needs a guy like Scott.

There's Susan, who by day is a mom to two cute little kids and wife to Tim, and by night, bakes some of the best danish and pie you'll ever eat. There's Konstance, who also makes pies, and does all the "odd jobs" in the bakery, on top of having four children! I bow to you Koni, because I couldn't do it.......I mean, have kids and work too? How does ANYBODY do it? I can't imagine. All working parents have my utmost respect.

There's Anna, the 17 year old fireball who will go anywhere she wants to go. For now, we are lucky to have her as our new Cafe manager and counter girl. Previously she worked at the bakery doing what Koni does now, so she knows the deal. Ask her anything about our products and she will be more than knowledgeable about it and friendly to boot.

Add to Anna's counterstaff, and you have Nicole, another girl who cares a lot about the product we make and the people we serve.....yet another prize in the employee pool!

Lillian and Rick round out our delivery driver staff and are both hard working, sweet, and friendly. Rick and Lillian are my official "taste testers" and give me feedback on treats that I leave out for them. So far, they've had nothing but good things to say about the things I make......did I say how much I like Lil and Rick? Hee hee.

Lars.....he's our packing guy......and mysteriously, hardly ever makes a mistake. This is a very good type of guy to have in that department and Lars rules. I don't see Lars much, because like most of the bakery crew, they work in the dead of night, when most of us are snuggled warm in our beds. I'm the rare employee that works during the day.

Cody helps Mo shape bread on the busy nights....Thursday and Fridays, he's another young guy, who, like Anna, is really on the ball.

There are two other employees....whom I don't know and have never met.....as soon as I figure out who they are and what they do, I will post about them too.....because without everyone we're nothing!

Oh wait....how could I forget the people who've made it all possible? Michael and Molly, the proud and busy owners of the whole operation! For reasons beyond my comprehension they actually decided to buy a bakery two years ago.
Wait a minute, you say, is it CRAZY to buy a bakery? Yes, Grasshopper, it is. It's downright insane. Why do you think I've been a baker for 16 years and not a bakery owner? 'Cause I ain't "man" enough, that's why. It takes a special kind of person to own a food establishment, and an even more special type of person to have enough moxie to make it successful. Michael and Molly = Moxie x 2. As I like to say, "they've got it goin' on".

And I like workin' for folks that got it goin' on.
But for now, just call me.........