5 Questions with Zoë François
Our favorite pastry chef on Minneapolis restaurants, and eating dessert for dinner.
If you don’t know Zoë François, you should.
You may know Zoë through her cookbooks (she’s the author of Zoë Bakes Cakes and co-author of the best-selling Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book series). Or through her wildly popular Instagram account.… or her show Zoë Bakes on the Magnolia Network.
I first met this incredible human when she showed up at a restaurant of mine 25 years ago and wanted a job as our pastry chef. She spent some time with us and I hired her. Best decision I ever made. I found a lifelong friend and a superb colleague at the same time… and someone I have shared real life with, and I mean REAL life.
A week into her job, I thought to myself that with her laugh, that smile and all that talent she should be a big star on TV. The folks at Magnolia saw what I have known for decades, bought the Zoë Bakes series and my company is lucky to also produce her show.
Zoë Bakes is a huge hit and I am thrilled that the world gets to see what I see…although I guess I am doubly lucky since I get to eat the leftovers. I ask her about her favorite place to eat in Minneapolis, plus what she’d make me for dinner. Read the interview below.
Zoë François shares her incredible recipes on Substack. Go here for 20% off your subscription.
What’s your favorite childhood food memory?
The first thing that comes to mind is having gnocchi with my dad at a little Italian restaurant in Westport, CT. We’d just left California, where we lived in a cult and ate a macrobiotic diet. Sitting at a restaurant with my dad was certainly a special occasion and anything with that much brown butter and cheese was going to make a lasting impression on me.
What’s your favorite food city. Why?
I have a lot more traveling to do, but for now I’d have to say NYC. There isn’t a craving that can’t be met at any time of day or night in that city. Coffee at Café Sabarsky, oysters at Grand Central Station, hot pastrami at Katz’s, hot pretzels outside the MET, a 99-cent slice after dancing at Nublu and the Paris Brest at Frenchette, just to name a few.
What place do you call home? What’s your favorite restaurant/café in town?
Minneapolis is home. Quang is my comfort food. I have been going there since I was hugely pregnant with my eldest son 24 years ago. The boys grew up in those booths and I’ve written a few books while sitting there, too.
You’ve worked in restaurants as a pastry chef, written cookbooks, make some of the best dessert videos on the internet and have a television show. Which do you find yourself enjoying the most?
Wow, thank you for that! This may seem a copout, but they all present different challenges (in a good way) and satisfy different needs creatively. The television show is the newest in my repertoire, so I have a huge learning curve. I am having so much fun getting to showcase the Minneapolis food community and teach people how to bake from my house. Dream job!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of the work you do?
Several years ago, I would have said “feeding people delicious food”. Now, it’s teaching people how to bake and watching them fall in love with the craft that brings me so much joy.
What’s the one food/drink you panic about running low on?
Coffee beans, God forbid!
What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about baking/making pastry?
It’s okay to fail at a recipe. Some of my favorite recipes have come from epic fails. I was trying to make a traditional French cheesecake and it went all wrong and I just changed the name of it. True story!
If I were to come to your house for dinner tonight, what would you make?
Cake! Another true story. My kids grew up with pie, cake, bread, cookies, and all sorts of sweets, but dinner was rarely part of the plan.
Hi AZ and Company, Thanks for always going the extra mile to include such a broad range of info. I've always been so intimidated by desserts and this post, and it's bright light of a chef, made me really want to give it a try. Once again, you guys are the daily tiny chocolate on my desk that I never expect. Spilled Milk provides!
Hi, Mr. Zimmern & Co! The fact that I have 0 interest in baking and watch Ms. François is a testament to her skills and charisma. And now I have another SubStack to subscribe to ... Just saw her latest video on Instagram; everyone wish her a speedy recovery!