“You have to see my ingredients,” said pint-sized Stephanie Fischer as she led me into Comet Coffee’s tiny kitchen. Squeezing between her hardworking KitchenAid mixer and her equally hardworking pastry chef Megan Cronin, Fischer proudly pulled out a pound of butter with an 83 percent butterfat content, organic milk and eggs, and decadent couverture chocolate made in France.
Only 24 years old, Fischer is the co-owner of Comet Coffee and the brains behind its remarkable baking program. Her ingredients are locally sourced and organic whenever possible. Everything is made from scratch, including her amazing croissants that are rolled out by hand, “because for now,” she said, “there’s no room for a machine.” Another one of her must-try baked goods: The Rebel Within, a savory muffin baked with Asiago cheese and studded with bits of Salume Beddu’s chorizo sausage. Much like its maker, this muffin isn’t pretentious, showy or loud – it’s simply great. And tucked inside this modest morsel, like a secret, is a soft-boiled egg.
5708 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, 314.932.7770, cometcoffeestl.com
This article appears in April 2014.