bake - July 2018 - 54

pastries

Pie
Times

spotlight the comforting ﬂavors of delicious pies and tarts,
such as the banana brown butter tart with ﬂeur de sel caramel
or the fried blueberry pie with cream cheese ice cream.
Herbsaint has been recognized by Eater National as one of
"The Best Restaurants in America," as well as being listed as a
Top 50 Restaurant in America by Gourmet.
Link is an inﬂuential innovator in New Orleans, a city that
is known for its unique take on contemporary cuisine. The
bakery business plays an integral role. In 2015, Link bought
the iconic New Orleans bakery La Boulangerie. Dominique
Rizzo, the owner of the traditional French bakery on Magazine
Street, approached Link to see if he wanted to buy it, and Link
accepted. "It means a lot to him," Link said at the time. "He
wanted it taken care of."
The bakery has not only survived but ﬂourished. Nowadays,
Scales arrives early each morning to bake bread and create
fresh desserts and ice cream for La Boulangerie and all the Link
restaurants. They plan to expand the bakery's breakfast and
lunch menu with more seasonal offerings.
"The idea is to build more of a casual lunch spot," Link says.
"We're not trying to change the world. We want a really strong,
good French bakery."
With this goal in mind, the patisserie component of the menu
features a wide array of pastries, tarts, cakes and pies, including
seasonal fruit tarts and black forest cake.
Originally from Philadelphia, Scales pursued her undergraduate
degree at the University of California, San Diego, before moving
in the Professional Pastry Program under pastry chef Delphin

revival across America. No longer enjoyed exclusively during the

Gomes. While in school, Scales worked at acclaimed chef Bob

fall holidays, pie is ﬁrmly engrained as a year-round dessert, and

Kinkaid's Sibling Rivalry Restaurant and the Metropolitan Club

the nation's leading chefs are putting new spins on pie innovation.

under chef Todd Weiner.

Chef Donald Link's Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant, established in

Upon completing culinary school, she worked as a pastry chef

2000 on historic St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, is the ﬂag-

at Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse in Boston. In 2011, she relo-

ship of the Link Restaurant Group. Herbsaint works closely with

cated to New Orleans and began working for the Omni Hotels.

local farmers and producers to offers contemporary, seasonal

She then joined Link Restaurant Group as a pastry chef, and in

French-Southern cuisine with elements of rustic Italian. Their

2014 accepted the position of executive pastry chef overseeing

desserts, crafted by executive pastry chef Maggie Scales,

all aspects of Link Restaurant Group's pastry department.

54 < JUL 2018 | bakemag.com

JOHN UNREIN

to Boston to attend the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
According to the American Pie Council, pie is enjoying a sweet
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