My sister is a an artisnal bread baker. She build a new wood fired oven and built a restaurant in Ghent Belgium last year and it's doing very well. There isn't really such a thing as s rock star baker, but if there was, it would be Chad Robertson. He visited and baked with her for a couple of weeks in October. The linked youtube video is the movie they made about it.
It's nice to see her build a successful life in such a weird niche.
De Superette Baking
Interesting. I dig some good bread. 
Curious is she an ex pat?
How did she get her start? How did she end up in Belgium?
She grew up in Michigan with me and the rest of the family. She's had a long and winding road getting to Belgium. She's working there legally one year at a time until she can apply for citizenship. Getting a legal work visa was a challenge as baker isn't a recognized skilled profession.
She sends me pictures when the rally comes through town. 
Everything about this story is very cool.
pres589 wrote: How did she get her start? How did she end up in Belgium?
She started cooking in NYC after college and her ability to bake pastries led her to a job in the Hamptons with a wood fired oven. She turned this into wandering around visiting wood fired ovens which led to an apprenticeship in Wisconsin for about 5 years. She went out on her own in Wisconsin and learned that even successful ventures can fail when family and money are tied too closely.
Looking for something else to do, she answered an offer to run a wood oven at a restaurant called In DeWulf in Belgium. By the time she left they were in the planning stages to buy a space in Ghent, build an oven, and open the new restaurant. She had to return to the US for six months, get her visa and then return to oversee the building of the restaurant.
Baking the way she does it is still very much an apprenticeship skill. It's insanely hard work, ridiculous hours, and low pay. I can't say I'd ever recommend it to anyone, but I'll be damned if she isn't one of the most fulfilled people I know.
So what made her choose to go to Belgium? Is she the one with tattoos?
moparman76_69 wrote: So what made her choose to go to Belgium? Is she the one with tattoos?
She's the 4'11" tatooed chick. Can't miss her.
The food scene in Belgium, France, and that part of Europe in general is really vibrant. Lots of locally sourced food and a return to traditional techniques. There's really only maybe a dozen places in the world right now where this sort of thing is booming like it is. That windmill they show grinding her grain is almost 400 years old, which is pretty cool.
Seemed like she was the one in charge lol. That's cool, sometimes you have to go to the place where they appreciate the thing you love to do if you really want to make a go at it.
That's pretty cool, talk about chasing your dreams, catching them and making them reality.
Ghent is a wonderful city. Like the advantages of Bruxelles and Bruges, without the respective scuzziness or touristiness. If I were single, I would ask if she was too. 
That's great. Anyone who can make their way in such a difficult craft has earned full respect. I would have loved to apprentice as an artisanal baker, but life didn't turn out that way. It's great there are still good people committed to doing things the right way.
No waffles? That's seriously cool.
She's got some damn good looking boules.
It's a type of bread, don't read too much into it.
You'll need to log in to post.
