All-new James Beard-caliber pastries, small-batch kombucha and artisanal vanillas are worth checking out to support local.
by Marilyn Hawkes | Photography by Angelina Aragon
James Beard-Caliber Pastries
In November 2021, pastry chef Mark Chacón founded Chacónne Patisserie, a Phoenix bakeshop where he fashions exceptional baked goods, including flaky croissants and Danishes, delicate cinnamon-swiped morning buns, savory tomato-thyme tarts, seasonal fruit hand pies and sultry chocolate-buttermilk poundcake ($5.25-$9). Chacón, who trained as a classical violinist, discovered his love for baking while working in iconic Bay Area kitchens, including Tartine and Chez Panisse, before returning to Phoenix to become Chris Bianco’s pastry chef. A James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Pastry Chef in 2022, Chacón currently makes about 15 different pastries in his tidy, 200-square-foot commercial kitchen, with plans to add a few more savory options. His most requested pastry is the endorphin-inducing cream cheese Danish. “But the chocolate croissant is probably my favorite item to make,” he says. “It’s just so simple and so satisfying.” Find Chacón’s pastries at Press Coffee locations and at Uptown Farmers Market.
Chacónne Patisserie
chaconnepatisserie.com
Small-Batch Kombucha
During a flu-like illness in 2018, Kristen Hanson started drinking kombucha hoping the fermented tea would make her feel better. “It worked so well with my symptoms, and I realized after the fact that it was also helping my gut health issues,” says the former arts marketing manager. Rather than continue to buy expensive commercial kombucha, Hanson learned how to brew her own, and in December 2021, she launched Milly Moon Kombucha. Initially, Hanson devised interesting flavor combinations by drawing the names of favorite fruits and herbs out of a bag. “It was a fun experiment, and a few ideas came from that,” she says. Today, Hanson makes five core flavors: jasmine-mint, cherry-lavender, ginger-turmeric, blueberry-chamomile and lemon-apple-rose ($9, 16 oz.; $16, 32 oz.). She also brews seasonal flavors, including strawberry-jasmine and pomelo, sourcing as much local, organic produce as possible. An avid supporter of sustainability practices, Hanson gives customers a discount for returning and reusing bottles.
Milly Moon Kombucha
millymoonkombucha.com
Artisanal Vanillas
After reading an article in Food Network Magazine about the ease of making vanilla extract, Ty Wears and his wife, Cate, ordered some vanilla beans to make a batch. “There are two ingredients – clear alcohol and vanilla beans – and it takes about 12 months for the extract to be ready,” he says. Now, the couple has a part-time business making several high-quality vanilla extracts, including Madagascar, Tahitian and Sri Lanka ($13, 2 oz.; $23, 4 oz.). Each extract has a unique flavor profile, depending on the origin of the beans, which only grow within 10 to 20 degrees of the equator, and the alcohol used to extract the beans, Wears says. The Wearses also churn out vanilla sugar ($10) to spruce up desserts and sweeten coffee and buttered popcorn; and vanilla paste ($25) made from vanilla bean seeds, to use for baking and ice cream making. “If you want vanilla to be the star,” Wears says, “use vanilla paste.”
Wears Market Vanilla
wearsmarketvanilla.com
