Taking Over the World One Tummy at a Time
Not a lot of pastry chefs can name pop icon Madonna among their former customers (she loves carrot cake). Or Yoko Ono, or Mary Tyler Moore. But Michelle Kaiser can.
During her years working for The Silver Palate in New York City, Kaiser baked cakes and goodies for a host of celebrities. She even became a bit famous herself: “My chocolate orange truffle brownies were voted by customers as the best brownies on the upper west side of NYC.”
These days, Kaiser sells her delectable desserts to more common folk, made in the kitchen of her Fremont bakery, Alotta Brownies. The “custom scratch bake shop” offers all kinds of goodies, from cakes and cookies to breads, brownies and pastries to several varieties of sweet rolls. The desserts are sold to walk-in customers, or may be custom-ordered. “For our corporate customers, we have several sizes of breakfast trays and brownie goodie trays available, and custom-decorated cakes for any event.”
Alotta Brownies also offers box lunches, which include a sandwich (made with fresh-baked bread), chips, choice of baby carrots or apple slices, and a brownie.
Kaiser said she got her baking inspiration from her grandmother, who she'd spend many hours with in the kitchen growing up in Nebraska. “I had a little talent and little persistence,” she said. After high school, she moved to NY to work as a nanny and cook. She attended classes at the New York Restaurant School, and later, apprenticed with a French pastry chef at Patisserie Les Friandise.
After several years at restaurants and catering companies in NY, she opened Michelle's Muffins&More, a wholesale bakery supplying coffee shops. “I built up a nice clientele,” she reminisced.
With kids approaching school age, she and her husband decided to move back home to raise their family. After nearly a decade of working in several food service management positions, Kaiser decided it was time to go into business for herself again.
First opened in Arlington in July 2009, Alotta Brownies' business grew quickly – very quickly! “By November, we realized that a move to a larger production space was going to have to occur.”
Since the majority of her customers hailed from Fremont, Kaiser worked with business leaders there to secure the old Vienna Bakery location, renovate the building and make the transition. The bakery held a grand re-opening on February 1, 2010.
The interior of Alotta Brownies is best described as whimsical. Bright pink, green and chocolate brown colors adorn the walls, and a sunshine-yellow tin ceiling greets you as you walk in. A lip bar runs along the front of the dining space with a view out the front windows, with a few tables strewn about, and wrought iron tables and chairs on a front patio allow customers to enjoy their sweet and coffee “alfresco.”
Kaiser said she appreciates that customers love to linger and enjoy the lovely space, but she's most concerned with making sure they're blown away by her desserts. “I want Alotta Brownies to be known for the richest, fudgiest brownie imaginable. Some call us the brownie divas!”
317 N. Main Street
Fremont, NE
www.alottabrownies.com
(402) 721-9400
Learn more at: www.alottabrownies.com
Story by: Her Magazine
