In a move that may seem a bit odd, Chan and I have decided to start selling cookies. As with everything else that we serve they will be made from scratch in our kitchen and we'll have a vegan option, most likely vegan oatmeal raisin. We're also going to make a chocolate chip cookie with Belgian milk chocolate chips and a coconut, pecan and white chocolate chip cookie (also Belgian chocolate). Organic butter (vegetable shortening for the vegan), Madagascar vanilla and organic free range eggs will be used for the batter cause that's how we roll at UT.
But the question inevitably will be, why is an Indian restaurant selling cookies? Warm, rich, delicious cookies. And the reason is that Chan is freaking awesome at baking, ask anyone in my family and they'll agree. You really need a passion for good food and for cooking to get into the restaurant business. The hours are long the financial investment is large and the failure rate is high. Chandler comes from a long line of bakers, and while she pretty much has taught herself how to bake, she gets the passion for cooking from her late grandma, Wanda French. Wanda was a wizard in the kitchen, a queen of traditional American classics like chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak, homemade biscuits and gravy and of course pies. There was a time when Wanda would bake a different fresh pie from scratch every night. I had the privilege of eating Wanda's cooking for Christmas 3 years ago and I was blown away. Smooth and airy mashed potatoes (made with no less than two sticks of butter), the most amazing fall-apart-tender pot roast and 3 different types of pie... that was a meal that I will never forget. I think one of the reasons Chan likes to bake so much is because it continues to be a link between her and her grandmother even after her grandmothers passing. Whether baking pies for thanksgiving dinner, amazing cakes for family birthdays, cupcakes for summer BBQs and now cookies for UT customers, Chan loves sharing her passion for baking...and I love eating the outcome. So even if it doesn't fit our theme, UT is gonna serve cookies. Warm, fresh from the oven cookies, baked in small batches throughout the day. Because really, doesn't everyone love warm cookies?
We should start selling the cookies sometime next week for 2 bucks a piece.
Cheers,
Aman
Okay so cookie monster will be there, you should make a dessert wrap.....sugar naan, crumbled cookies, hot fudge and whip cream!!
ReplyDeleteOk, Chany, you will get lots of responses from lots of people on this one but none more truthful that this...nothing vegan or organic EVER came out of Wanda's kitchen-haha. We both know that Grandma saw many things in only 1 way: The cookies were sugar, the cakes were coconut, and the jelly was plum (although many shades of pies existed, and God bless her for that!). However, having said all of this, she loved people with her food. She would LOVE what you are doing. (Besides, she wasn't conventional-that is what she would love best about cookies in an Indian restaurant)
ReplyDelete~Love, Laura
I think you need my tastebuds first to verify the cookies. Please deliver some to my preschool and all the kids would love to be guinea pigs for you.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck always
Just a tear in my eye. Mom would love to know that her grandchildren loved her baking, but not organic in our house except growing up was somewhat organic or off the soil of Mill Shoals. I think it is a good fit as Rod 64 would say, (Smoke one- Eat one). Name them "2 Stix-Butter"
ReplyDeleteMOM
Loved Aunt Wanda's Pecan Pie and she made the best pot roast gravy. Chan, I'm glad you learned to bake from your grandmother, cause I'm not sure your mom enjoyed it as much as her mom did.
ReplyDelete