David Andrews, Owner
Company Mission
The mission of D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe is to bring a modern French style bakery to my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. I had the great fortune of training in New York City under some amazing chefs: Alfred Portale, Deborah Racicot, Danielle Kapner, Marcus Samuelsson and Angelo Sosa. I spent 13 years in New York mastering my craft, and I am grateful for all I learned. It is important to my staff and me that we are a 100% from-scratch bakery. We take pride in the fact that we have an open kitchen where our customers can watch us laminate our croissants, glaze our entremets, caramelize chocolate, make our brioche and even portion our cookies. We are located in the heart of downtown, and we love the fact that we elevate the neighborhood.
Signature Products
Our signature baked good and number-one seller is our D’onut. It starts with our brioche that we proof overnight. In the morning, we roll it out, proof for two hours and then fry in peanut oil to give it a nutty touch. We then sugar it and fill it with a Tahitian vanilla bean pastry cream.
For entremets, we are known for our elevated carrot cake. We cut the sweetness by adding parsnips. Then decorate our cakes with a mascarpone frosting and chocolate work.
In the savory department, our most popular sandwich is a classic – the Bacon, Egg & Cheese (BEC). We make an American focaccia and roll that into buns. We use our homemade tomato aioli along with locally-sourced sharp cheddar cheese and Berkshire Bacon.
Production Tip
After 20 years in this business, I believe pastry comes down to two things: time and temperature. Knowing the perfect amount of time to kneed a dough. Or knowing the perfect moment to pull a tray of pain au chocolates from the oven. With 30 seconds more, they’ll be too dark, but with 30 seconds less, they might be under-baked. Temperature is key for us, especially in our laminated pastries. We make sure the butter and croissant dough are at the ideal temperature to marry each other. We’ve all had islands of butter while laminating, so knowing the correct temperature will solve that problem.
Equipment ‘Must-Haves’
I have three favorite pieces of equipment. First is obviously a scale. My team thinks it’s funny that I have banned teaspoons and tablespoons from the bakery. But I believe even when measuring the tiniest amount of ingredient, a scale is paramount to success.
My second favorite piece of equipment is a proofer. We opened the bakery with one proofer. Two years later, we bought a second, and just last month, we bought a third. It’s marvelous to watch all of your hard work — whether it be ham and cheese croissants, focaccia bread, brioche D’onuts or pecan cinnamon buns — rise and come to life in a few short hours.
My third favorite piece of equipment would be our ovens. I had never heard of a “bakery length” oven before my equipment salesperson introduced them to me. It is a small luxury to be able to load the full-sheet tray straight into our ovens. We also use electric ovens, which I believe give a more consistent heat.
Secret of Success
Hard work pays off. I believe my success was born from working the 2pm-to-1am shift at Gotham Bar & Grill in New York. We’d work five days one week and six the next. It was an incredible learning environment. Yes, there were tough days, but putting in the work and making myself better everyday has led me to where I am today.
On the flip side, from running the bakery day to day, my secret weapon is simple: a smile. When people come into the bakery and see my staff and I flash big smiles toward them, we’ve already won. And to be clear, it is genuine. We love what we do. We are around to show off our hard work, and we love to watch people enjoy our food. I tell people I’m in the smile business for the customer, for my staff and for me.
Future Goals
My world and life changed forever in January 2024 when we were nominated as a semifinalist by the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Bakery in America. Our business immediately increased by 70%. We reached a whole new audience. I have toyed with the idea of opening another D’Andrews Bakery location or maybe even an ice cream or chocolate shop. That day might come soon, but in the meantime, my team and I are laser focused on quality, creativity and flashing a smile.
For more info, visit www.dandrewsbakery.com
(This article appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)
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