Award-winning pastry chefs Michael
Jones and Bart Utz first met when both were enrolled in South
Seattle Community College taking pastry and specialty baking
courses. However, they didn't strike up a friendship until much
later when Michael hired Bart to help out in a Queen Anne bakery
he was purchasing. When that purchase failed, the two decided to
pool their talents, resources, impressive experience, and love
of pastries to start their own business, like their cakes, "from
scratch." As Bart puts it, "it was Phoenix rising from the
ashes.
They baked and decorated their first
gorgeous wedding cake as Crème de la Crème in 1998 and haven't
stopped baking and decorating some of Seattle's most popular
cakes since. While the business was becoming established, both
worked day jobs at well-known Seattle establishments such as the
Washington Athletic Club, where Michael served as Executive
Pastry Chef off and on for 16 years. Bart's extensive resume
includes several bakeries, hotels Four Seasons, Esmeralda,
Westin and the Sunset Club, where he
was employed five years.
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The one constant after Bart and
Michael created Crème de la Crème was their desire to become a
full-fledged, self-supporting business providing some of the
tastiest, as well as most beautiful, wedding cakes offered in
the Seattle area. (The two have never been afraid to back up the
tasty claim - almost since its inception Crème de la Crème has
invited all prospective clients to cake-tasting parties where
they can let their palates decide for them which delicious
flavor to choose.)
Seven years ago, Bart and Michael
realized the dream. They bought a commercial space in Renton
that ended years of creating and delivering cakes and pastries
out of a rented space in Kent while working at day jobs in
Seattle. Crème de la Crème, already becoming a recognized name
and voted by Seattle Weekly readers as Seattle's best wedding
cake, truly came into its own. Bart quit his day job almost
immediately after the move, and Michael turned his full-time
attention to Crème de la Crème after the first year.
Within the partnership, each has found his niche. Michael
focuses on the production of the cakes and pastries, while Bart
is their computer and marketing specialist. Not wanting their
business to ever become "stale," both constantly research new
ideas for what they can offer clients, and stay abreast of
current trends and desires. Plans for Crème de la Crème's future
include expanding the demand for pastries, holiday treats and
cakes for all occasions, while continuing to create amazing
wedding cakes "that taste as good as they look."
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