In just a week, a new pastry shop will be opening in San Francisco. Craftsman and Wolves is the work of pastry chef William Werner, known for the delicious treats from his former company, Tell Tale Preserve which I discovered at various pop-ups in the city last year. At the Ferry Building farmer’s market there were baked goods like the homemade pop tart and the famous rebel within, a savory muffin with a poached egg inside. I regret not having tried the latter. The storefront did not come to fruition, so now less than a year later fans like myself are eager and ready for version 2.0 of Werner’s pastries.
At the Meals on Wheels dessert reception in April, I got a preview of what was in store for the new shop and everything was so chic and sophisticated, far from the rustic and nostalgic items of Tell Tale. Not to worry. According to William, there will be a bit of both at the new place. So while we are still a week away, here is a glimpse of the sampling I had a couple months back.
The “table” was the most intriguing of the night with the white light glowing on the bite-sized sweets.
Left: hibiscus and rhubarb pate de fruit; Right: chocolate, mango, smoked almond sable
The pate de fruit had a good balance of tangy and sweet. The little layered cake slice was nice as well. I am not usually a fan of fruit and chocolate but mango or passion fruit with chocolate (especially for a macaron) is a great combination. I liked the addition of the sable for crunchy texture.
Signage of a whole collection of pate de fruits. Wonder what the other flavors are?
Earl grey, carrot, coconut soaked brioche
Oh this was heavenly. The little piped kisses of carrot meringue were so light and airy. Perfect with the brioche and anything with earl grey is good in my book.
Buttermilk, strawberries, vanilla and avocado
Another beautifully crafted layered cake. Though I did not sample I at least had to get a shot of it.
Palette with praline, fennel and grapefruit confit
Warm drinking caramel, violet marshmallows
Though I couldn’t taste all the desserts, I made room for this drink. If you like hot chocolate, this is better than any version, including the one I had in at Cafe de Flore in Paris that tasted like melted souffle. The caramel was not too sweet. I like my caramel with a good amount of salt actually. The violet marshmallows were fluffy and the hint of floral with the caramel was perfect.
Craftsman and Wolves – opening June 16th
746 Valencia Street (at 18th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Twitter @craftsmanwolves