Croissants and Danishes are two pastries you can’t get at Jeremy Fogg’s new bakery, Mae’s Bakeshop — for one very good reason.
“We aren’t a French bakery,” says Fogg, who was the pastry chef at Emeril’s Restaurant for six years before the pandemic. “We are a Southern American bakery. My grandmother was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina.”
Fogg does plan to broaden his approach to include other regional American specialties, like whoopie pies and sticky buns with nuts. He already bakes Key lime pie, a nod to his Florida upbringing.
“We have iconic dishes from every part of the U.S.,” he says. “This is part of our history. Let’s showcase them.”
The bakery is located on Baronne Street near recent additions Zee’s Pizzeria and Lucy Boone Ice Cream. It takes its name from his late mother, whose middle name was Mae, a middle name she shared with both of her grandmothers. Fogg comes from a very close family, the kind that made sure the fridge was stocked with their grandson’s favorite treats.
Fogg went to culinary school in his native Orlando, where he started working in high volume resort kitchens. Mae’s Bakeshop is his first brick and mortar business, but it’s more than that. Fogg lost his mother and grandmothers between 2010 and 2012, which left him feeling unmoored.
“I needed to make a change,” he recalls. “So I moved to New Orleans on a whim.”
That was 10 years ago, during which time he started as a pastry chef at Bourbon House, before getting hired at the age of 26 to head Emeril’s pastry kitchen.
“When I look back on the last 10 years, it’s like, ‘Wow! Was this really my life?’” he says. “I learned so much at Emeril’s, had so many opportunities. It was stressful, but it was a place I could really be creative.”
His high-profile position landed him on Zagat's list of “30 Under 30” New Orleans chefs in 2016, and he’s competed on the Food Network shows “Best Baker in America,” “Chopped Sweets” and “Beat Bobby Flay” (which he did in that show’s 2018 season).
When he was furloughed during the pandemic, he created Mae’s, filling direct orders and popping up around town. As fancy as he’d been at Emeril’s, Fogg’s new path was a familiar one: to recreate family recipes with a pastry chef’s technique.
Some recipes haven’t changed a bit, like his grandma’s sour cream pound cake, available in mini-loaves and by the slice. Same for Nana’s cookie brittle.
Meanwhile, his banana cream pie looks like the family recipe, but with the upgrades of fresh pastry dough and house-made pudding instead of Jell-O’s banana pudding from a mix. But it’s still a single layer with sliced bananas fanning out around the crust.
“I was eating banana cream pie way before I was making Emeril’s recipe,” Fogg says.
Fogg bought the business from Beth Biundo, who closed her sweets shop over the summer and sold the business to him. Most of the equipment was in place, making the transition almost turnkey. Fogg did add a hutch from one grandmother’s house, along with some family photos, including pictures of his mom and both his grandmothers.
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The pastry case is new, stocked with Southern-style biscuits, cinnamon rolls, pies sold whole and by the slice, cookies and muffins. Home-style cakes by the slice include chocolate and vanilla with buttercream frosting, and he makes cakes to order.
Locally roasted coffee rotates between small batch suppliers like Baby’s or HEY Coffee.
On the savory side, there are breakfast hand pies, and a pastry roll with layers of ham, whole grain mustard and smoked Gouda. Fogg plans to offer breakfast sandwiches soon, along with plate lunches that can come together in his all-electric kitchen.
“I plan to serve our favorite birthday dishes that we grew up with for folks to eat here or take home by the pint or quart,” he says.
His sister’s favorite, sloppy joes, and Fogg’s go-to chicken and dumplings come from recipes that conjure memories of family and love on a plate.
