Andrea Quillen: Pastry Chef at Minifactory

Eating & Cooking

Oct 12

We chatted with Andrea about her childhood visits with family in Chile, her favorite breakfast as a kid, plus her baking plans for Minifactory and what exciting trends she sees in pastry right now.

*Andrea Quillen, Pastry Chef at Minifactory*

Andrea’s Friday falls on a Tuesday. This particular week she finished up at about 1 pm. A couple hours later, she texts me. It’s a picture of Erin McDowell’s new cookbook shot against a blue sky. “Look what came!”. We’ve been anticipating the arrival of this new savory baking book for months - wondering what answers it might unlock as we think through the right mix of products at Minifactory.

I love this text. I love getting to exchange constantly with a fellow food nerd. I immediately changed my plans and beelined for the bookstore to see if I could get a copy of McDowell’s book too so that when Andrea returned on “Monday”, we could compare notes.

“Pinch me, I’m dreaming” - that’s the phrase that repeats in my mind daily about the god-damn-blessing that is Andrea baking at Minifactory. Her joy, candor, humor, maturity, talent, hustle and so much more, gah, Thank you Andrea!

And without further ado!

V Smiley Preserves: Can you share a bit about yourself?

Andrea Quillen: Hiya! I’m Andrea Quillen, pastry chef at Minifactory. I’ve been baking professionally for over a decade. I’ve shaped stacks of bread, frosted loads of cakes, filled heaps of donuts, and twirled hundreds of cardamom buns. I grew up in San Diego, CA and have lived and baked in Texas, Scotland, and Slovenia. I’m also exploring the world of ceramics which is a fun, new way for me to be creative.

VSP: What led you to food and baking?

AQ: Honestly at the core of it, I was hungry. There were a couple of people and places that led me to feel like food and baking was something that brought me joy and was something I should take seriously. I was fortunate to visit my mother’s family in Chile a lot when I was young, and my favorite memories are sitting at the table for breakfast with an array of items: fresh bread, jams, meats, cheeses, membrillo, and my absolute favorite, manjar (aka dulce de leche.) Because I was shy and insecure about my ability to speak Spanish fluently, my grandmother was able to make the connection with me and nurture me though food. My grandpa (on my dad’s side) in California also figured out the way to my heart was a through a ham and cheese sandwich with a thin layer of butter, Dad’s root beer, Entenmann’s oatmeal raisin cookies, and a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

By the time I reached middle school, I got interested in baking. I was gifted “Betty Crocker’s Best of Baking” and went wild making blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls. Cue the hunger. I was especially proud the day I made a chicken pot pie with a homemade puff pastry.

What led me to pursuing food and baking professionally happened a little later. I had graduated from college and was a little lost with what I wanted to do. The 2008 recession had hit, and I was having a tough time finding work. I took on a substitute teacher role and ended up subbing a Food Trades class for a week and realized my curiosity spiked when it came to food. With the encouragement of my husband, Ethan, I enrolled in an Intro to Baking and Pastry course at Grossmont College (California) and had a blast. Life pulled Ethan and I to Austin, Texas where I enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu. From Austin, we took off to Edinburgh, Scotland where I received an incredible foundation to the way I bake and think about food now.

*Andrea (third in from the left in the front row) with Operation Peace, Love, Bread*

VSP: What has influenced your experience and expertise - personal and professional?

AQ: I have found that I have been influenced by a lot of hardworking women and working in kitchens that are playful with ingredients. For several years, I worked at Peter’s Yard (now Soderberg) in Edinburgh and learned so much from working with 2 bakers, Olga and Georgie. They trained me to work hard, do 3 things at once, the value of a deep clean, and have fun conversations while doing all of this. Along the way, I met other excellent pastry chefs in Scotland to share our growing culinary knowledge, kitchen mishaps, non-culinary creative pursuits, and lots of laughs. From each conversation, I gained knowledge of how each baker approached recipe development and food. Every perspective is unique. This inspired me to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Stirling, diving into historical recipes and the use of ingredients and seasonality in early American cuisine.

When our visas expired, Ethan and I had to decide where we wanted to relocate. As we both grew up in California, we wanted to live through the seasons, so New England it was! I landed a pastry baker position at the King Arthur Bakery in Norwich, VT and eventually became Head Pastry Chef. The experience of managing a large pastry kitchen was an incredible task that taught me a lot about being a leader and what kind of leader and baker I want to be.

VSP: The food industry has changed a lot in the last few years. Have you been impacted or witnessed these changes, for better or worse?

AQ: Certainly, the food industry has changed a lot and I don’t know anyone who hasn’t taken stock of their role in it. I did that, and that’s why I’m at Minifactory! I was really drawn to V and her jams, with the use of honey and the unique ingredient combinations. I want to focus in on using as much local and seasonal ingredients as possible, work low waste, educate myself further on ingredients (fruits/veg/spices), be playful with pastries and jam, and build a stronger baking language to better express myself.

What I have seen gain traction in recent years is a lot more exposure of non-Euro centric baking, which is so great to see. In culinary school, the focus was that the epitome of baking is French or German. Sure, there are a lot of techniques and foundations of baking to be found there, but I’m appreciating the rise in bakers my age starting their own bakeries, panaderias, and pop-ups using ingredients that they grew up with, making pastries and bread they grew up eating and being unapologetic about the way they bake. I admire that. What keeps me excited and curious about baking is that there are so many ways to shape bread, so many spices and ingredients to learn about, so many bakers to learn from, and it’s all really about finding out what works in your space and what brings you joy.

VSP: Can you share a peek at some of your visions for the baking at Minifactory?

AQ: Where to begin! I enjoy working with seasonality in mind, and Vermont truly has a bounty of fruits and veg. I’m filled with anticipation each morning to see what gorgeous fruit/veg/jam V has left for me to use on the pastry table. As for fall, we’re planning Fridays as a special jammy donut day and the weekends are for laminated pastries. I’m excited to explore more gluten free/paleo/alternative baking since I’m rather new to it. I’ve declared it to be my new year’s baking resolution to get more experience in it. Two years ago, learning about jam and preserves was my baking resolution, and look where we are! 😊 All in all, I’m excited to keep baking through the Vermont seasons, tucking jam in my baked goods, and getting to know what makes the folks of Bristol hungry.