By Jimmy MacMillan
I’ve been focused on locating the future pastry chefs, or in my mind the ‘pastry underground.’ This underground may exist everywhere and nowhere. In an age in which ideas can be broadcast immediately, the important incubation period that can lead to extraordinary breakthroughs in the creation and development of pastry arts may be skipped. By seeking out and supporting individuals exploring pastry for the love of the art, we start to see the cultivation of originality and new creativity.
A recent example of this underground movement is Chef Divs Ray’s online microbakery Umami from Scratch. The complex layering of flavors, techniques and ingredients such as spice and tea create a masterful cohesion of sweet and savory cuisine—the exquisite sweet and delicious cuisine of Divs Ray. Her creative vehicle is baking; notably bread and pastry; which includes recipes from every continent connected through the spice routes.
The Spice Routes, or Maritime Silk Roads, are the network of sea routes linking the East with the West. They stretch from the west coast of Japan through the islands of Indonesia around India to the lands of the Middle East—and from there, across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Inspired by her childhood food experiences and noticing the lack of thoughtful bakery options in her home city of Chicago, Divs started her business Umami from Scratch.
Some of her earliest creations were expressed in the vehicle of canelés de Bordeaux, developing multiple products such as spiced orange blossom with a spice blend that includes nutmeg, cardamom, ground dried citrus peel and cinnamon, osmanthus oolong citrus, brown butter coffee cardamom, hōjicha toasted flour brown butter, Earl Grey and lavender and saffron and orange blossom.
“Flour, fats, and sugars are the building blocks of baked goods, and I have strived to add complexity and flavors to each one by using ingredients and techniques prevalent across the spice routes of the world,” explains Chef Ray.
“Steeping butter with tea and flowers to use in Génoise sponge (for madeleines) was my starting point, but now infusions have become my second nature. The most important thing in this process is finding the right balance — as nothing should be overpowering — yet bold enough for the spices to shine.”
Divs grew up in a steel town in India, where her mother’s cooking profoundly influenced her craft. Her mother never repeated a meal, drawing on her fascination with Chinese bread and serving classic dishes such as Ile Flottante (Floating Island) to their house guests.
Using bread as another vehicle, such as the famous Provençal bread fougasse, Chef Ray expresses her layers of flavors. Umami from Scratch variants includes her family recipe of tomato chutney, caraway seeds, basil, saffron, capers, raisins, sumac onions, za’atar, cherries and feta.
Sometimes, Divs Rey takes the familiar and makes it much more interesting. For example, she presents focaccia with flavors of roasted apple, fennel, and giardiniera, soy; and Chinese five-spice-glazed black plums with cilantro and pickled hatch chile peppers, or chaat masala potatoes and green peas, cream cheese and salsa verde, and black garlic and miso butter, which has been the most popular.
Visiting Chef Ray at recent vendor markets, I had the opportunity to sample some unique and beautiful offerings, such as cheesy crumpets with kohlrabi salsa, Turkish coffee custard buns, gochujang brioche with corn and parmesan, and mango lassi cookies.
March is the month of the Indian festival of colors called Holi, which celebrates the end of winter, the spirit of forgiveness and joy! And Holi celebrations are remiss without thandai – a spiced milk and nut-based drink from Northern India with a rich mythological significance and several variants in Modern India. Rife with several spices, aromatics, and nuts, the drink can be overwhelming to the senses. So, to keep it nut-free while maintaining its essence, I created my signature madeleines infused with a homemade nut-free thandai masala and enriched with browned butter and toasted milk powder. Dipped in white chocolate and finished with edible rose petals. it’s as exotic as it sounds.
Chef Rev’s version of thandai includes nutmeg, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, cardamom, Urfa chile pepper, rose petals, mace, saffron, and sesame seeds.
“The Future of pastry, for me, is an unexpected flavor,” Dis says. “In the last decade, many pastry chefs have become adventurous in incorporating specialty ingredients like yuzu, matcha, lavender, chile pepper, etc. So, in that spirit, I believe pairing unexpected flavor profiles will be the way to go. Using savory forward ingredients like chili oil, gochujang, chaat masala, olives, and pickles to pair with fruits, caramel, citrus and cream elements is definitely happening.”
The current climate for pastry shops and bakeries can be distracting and draining on the creative process. By supporting the cultivation of the next generation of pastry chefs and bakers, we can secure an exciting and hopeful future for our industry. When visiting Chicago, the new pastry mecca, one can experience the exquisite dishes from Umami from Scratch or order on their website: https://www.umamifromscratch.com/.
Jimmy MacMillan is a celebrated pastry chef, food writer, and Emmy® award-winning videographer. Chef MacMillan is a pastry consultant working under the Pastry Virtuosity label. For more information, visit www.PastryVirtuosity.com and @jimmymacmillan
(This article appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)
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