A match made in the celestial realm, fortune falls in our favor with a star crossed Butcher & the Pastry Chef.

Pastry Chef Sarah Botcher talks about what it’s like to go to working at the restaurant with her husband:

“Working with Peter has been as always really great we met in the kitchen so we’ve had this relationship working together for quite some time and he has his area and I have mine. But we still work as a team and I really like it…

…We met at a restaurant working for Steven Brown about 7 or 8 years ago so that was a really great experience to work with great people then and meet my husband.”

So do they actually get to see each other on the day in and out? Yes, in fact, they collaborate (along with Chef) to match palates.

“Usually our collaboration at this point especially revolves around the bread production and pairing it with the right meat as I do all the breads in house and so thinking about whether it’s going to be a garnish or a main component is when we get together and collaborate dishes like the foot long hot dog obviously is an example of meat being and bread being two components together that are very important.”

With a fairly flavor bold and spicy menu at Butcher & the Boar, desserts may be the last thing on anyone’s mind at the end of a meal, that is, unless the dessert of course that sweet finish has the right touch.

Pastry Chef Sarah Botcher has managed to do exactly that.

“Knowing how to finish is really important in the subtlety. In a meal that is as big as you get when you come to our restaurant…

…It’s a lot of flavors, it’s a lot of sensory overload going on sometimes when you eat out. There’s music, there’s people, there’s a lot of food choices, and sometimes you just want to enjoy something more subtle at the end of a meal and for me that’s what I drew upon was a nice clean finish. “

So how do you mesh desserts with our bold and audacious menu filled with meats and spice?

“Jack has a wonderful menu with Peter… they’ve composed a lot of spice, flavor, and just in your face. I wanted to make sure that the finish is just a bit more soft so you can go away with not feeling like ‘oh that just took me over the edge of too much’ - where it’s perfect to finish in a much more subtle , enjoyable, and comfortable way.”

With Fall upon us one’s mind turns to apples, pumpkin pies, and hearty fall dishes. What do we have cooking for your dessert palate this fall? Let’s see what Pastry Chef Sarah Botcher has to say.

“I think for Fall we obviously have the gingersnap banana pudding. Apples are coming into season so it’s a matter of thinking about what we can do with those. Fruits and really highlight the flavor of apple in fall you know caramel always really pairs well with apples and flakey pastries which is really a winner in my book and like I said, the Grasshopper speaking to that is a great fall winter menu item because even in the winter it’s still very refreshing to have a cool mint dessert.

I think that one is a year round because even in the summer it really complements the heat of summer with the coolness of the semi-frozen dessert and it’s got a little chocolate for the chocolate lover as well.”

So what inspires her desserts? Is it childhood memories, taste, ingredients?

“I think what inspires me today is not necessarily always things from my childhood what inspires me is great ingredients and people that produce those ingredients with integrity…

…So working with people like that really inspires me to make a great product as well or strive to bring out the greatness of the flavors that someone else produces whether it’s flour, chocolate or fruits and working with others that have the same integrity really that ultimately inspires me.”

Meet Pastry Chef Sarah Botcher (yes, wife of resident Butcher Peter Botcher). She’s in charge of the subtle touch regarding all things sweet here at Butcher & the Boar. Famous in house for her Grasshopper pies, she can be found crafting delicious desserts and innovating fresh bread delights here daily. So what makes her tick?

“…what I always strive for with what I make is it has to taste great. Flavor is always my thing. Sometimes people get a little more caught up in appearance. I like to keep the integrity of the flavors very much forward on the plate for the customer and for myself that’s to me, it’s always about how it tastes and that doesn’t mean rustic is an example of how I’d refer to what I do. Some people also think rustic could be also an excuse for clunky, but to me it’s just making something beautiful and tastes as good as it looks.”

A stickler for awesome flavor, she’s a fan of tasting everything she creates (it has to pass the taste test of course)!

If you see her around, don’t be a shy one. Say hi and tell her what desserts make you crazy!