Joe Pastry…

…is a guy who believes that if a man feels like whipping up a nice almond cocoa genoise or a few madeleines, well…he should be able to. And if he feels like talking a little science or history along the way…well, what harm does that do anyone?

Joe was born and raised in Chicago. He started his career in food at age 16, working as a line cook on weekends. Through his high school and college years he worked a variety of food service jobs, never earning more than five dollars an hour. So he went into marketing.

For the last twenty years, Joe has worked as an independent consultant specializing in retail and wholesale food and ingredients. He has helped everyone from small organic farmers to Cargill take their products to market, and everyone from street vendors to McDonald’s Corporation with their branding.

Joe was practicing t’ai chi and eating macrobiotically when he was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in 2001. As part of his therapy, he took a job at one of the Chicago area’s top bakery/pastry shops. He credits first class Western medicine and top quality butter with his recovery (he has been in full remission since late 2001).

In 2004 Joe moved to Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Jo, and shortly started both a family and a small baking business. The business failed in 2006, but his wife, for reasons that have yet to be explained, kept him. Today Joe leads as balanced a life as he can with his wife, Jo, two Kentucky-born daughters, Joan and Josephine, and his wood-burning brick oven.

He can be contacted at: joe@joepastry.com