Chef Joe Baker will teach and entertain with the making of lemon meringue tarts. Samples and recipes will be provided to attendees. A shade cover with chairs on the south side of the pavilion will provide respite should the heat continue into mid-September. The Event starts at 10:00 and goes until it’s done.
Joe the Baker is a familiar face as both a vendor and prior chef with the Market to Kitchen educational program and Farm to Table Dinners. He willingly accepts these market requests and even volunteers prior to being asked. He states, “I believe in shaking the hands of the people providing your food and wanted to offer my expertise for everyone to have better pastries.”
Sharing his passion is something customers have come to appreciate. “Too much time and money goes into lackluster product that I wanted to show how accessible great food can be and how a real craftsman is better than the local grocer.”
Chef Baker has an extensive history in the culinary arts, reaching back to childhood when he was in the kitchen at home. Most chefs have a passion and Joe’s is pastries as customers of the Coppell Farmers Market will recognize from his booth with unique pastries he brings to sell. As he says, “I was born to do this and have always chased my passion.”
A pastry chef must use discipline and precision in his work, skills Chef Baker cultivated while serving in the U.S. Army. He learned classical French preparations at L’Academie de Cuisine in Washington, DC, then put all those skills to use working in prestigious restaurants and as a Chef Instructor at Le Cordon Bleu, Dallas. Additionally, Chef Joseph Baker has been featured twice in So Good… the magazine of haute patisserie, was a runner-up on Food Network’s Sweet Genius, and was a semi-finalist in the Starchefs.com 4th Annual International Pastry Competition in New York City.
Operating under the Texas Cottage Food Law, he brings his signature light and delicate gluten free French macarons in different flavors and pastel hues weekly to the Coppell FM. This season he added a rotating gluten free quick bread to the Coppell FM lineup. Past breads have included zucchini, banana, and pumpkin breads. Occasionally he brings handmade chocolate truffles, and non-gluten free cakes or cookies.
He is a firm believer in the Coppell Farmers Market concept. When asked, “Why is seasonal produce and using local products important?” he replied, “It tastes better, it’s closer tied to our memories of the season, there’s something romantic about local produce in season.” He lives what he believes as he is seen shopping the market himself. He says, “I am a vendor with the market and we are all supportive of each other and work hard to help where we can.”