Bakers Bench, the vegan viennoiserie from pastry chef Jennifer Yee, is increasing into a brand new storefront in Victor Heights on the Alpine Courtyard growth on Could 31. The bakery has risen to prominence for its vegan takes on traditional pastries resembling croissants, palmiers and cinnamon buns. , plus a rotating number of cookies, muffins and seasonal choices. On the new location, the menu will stay the identical because the Chinatown unique, with the addition of heartier gadgets resembling sandwiches and focaccia slices. Yee estimates that about 80 % of the brand new menu will likely be vegan. Though Bakers Bench ceased working from its Far East Plaza kiosk in February 2024, it’s anticipated to reopen at a future date.
Yee started coaching as a baker on the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California, earlier than transferring to New York Metropolis to work at Gilt and Jean-Georges. Again in California, Yee hung out within the kitchens at Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco, Thomas Keller's French Laundry and Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, and Bottega Louie and Konbi in Los Angeles. It was throughout Yee's time at Konbi that he started experimenting with plant-based butter alternate options. Utilizing ForA vegan butter, which is made with aquafaba and coconut oil, Yee was in a position to obtain a superbly laminated pastry with a golden brown crust.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25459397/DSC06295BB02.jpg)
Yee first realized in regards to the Victor Heights growth from a buddy in 2021 after opening Bakers Bench in Chinatown. She turned down the chance to increase right into a second location on the time, however modified her thoughts after visiting the mission months later with its developer, Jingbo Lou. Based on a Los Angeles Occasions report, after Yee signed on, Lou used his involvement to solicit different tenants on the Alpine Courtyard growth, together with Tim Riley of the Heavy Water espresso store and chef Miles Thompson of Child Bistro. (Lou jokingly refers to Yee as his co-developer.) Heavy Water and banchan store Perilla are at the moment open for enterprise, with Child Bistro and Cassell's Hamburgers debuting within the subsequent 12 months.
Like Chinatown, Victor Heights is an space experiencing fast change and gentrification. Whereas Lou mentioned Los Angeles Occasions that he hopes that the industrial growth, which was beforehand residential housing, will protect a chunk of town's historical past, some have expressed issues about how companies will change the group. The previous Alpine Courtyard residents had been evicted by a unique developer beneath the Ellis Act, which permits landlords to evict tenants in the event that they plan to take the property off the rental market. Yee says his contribution to the modifications within the neighborhood is one thing that’s on the forefront of his thoughts when he thinks about how he needs to run the enterprise.
When he opened in Chinatown, Yee carried out native outreach in English and Chinese language by inviting neighbors to the enterprise through handwritten postcards. In Victor Heights, he plans to do one thing just like acquire the belief of the group he moved into. “I'm attempting to be a part of the answer,” says Yee. “I feel there’s a tendency for folks to suppose that the answer could be very slim, the place the property has by no means been purchased by builders.” Her plans embrace group outreach, internet hosting a summer season studying program and making a neighborhood backyard. Yee can be in search of alternatives to make the bakery extra sustainable by lowering single-use plastics, increasing composting efforts, and buying an electrical charging van.
Yee says the reception from the group has been heat up to now, with neighbors expressing pleasure that the property is in use once more. As he prepares to open the bakery's doorways quickly, Yee is happy to be baking within the new house. “I wish to sew for the remainder of my life,” she says. “And I wish to share that with different folks.”
Bakers Bench is positioned at 1021 Alpine Road, Constructing A, Los Angeles, CA 90012, and will likely be open Friday by means of Monday from 8 am to 1 pm.
