If you ask Janel Rucker to bake a cake for you, she will definitely try to steer you away from fondant. “I hate when people want to get fondant on a cake,” she says with a laugh. “I’m just like, ‘Why?‘ For the display purposes, I get it. But fondant doesn’t taste delicious to me like a buttercream would.”
When she’s not manning the grill at French Market Bistro, churning out perfectly cooked steaks for residents in the Country Club area, Rucker is making all kinds of desserts for her catering business, Janel Rucker Creations. The St. Francisville native says she grew up in a family where everybody cooked or baked, and she’s balanced her savory and sweet skills ever since then.
It was the photos of her cupcakes, brownies and chocolates she posted on Facebook and Instagram that led the French Market Bistro leadership to tap her to help them compete at Fête Rouge this year. While chef Borivane Khemmanyvong took charge of the meat portion of their entry (winning first place in his category for a smoked pork belly), Rucker was in charge of dessert.
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She crafted an espresso brownie with candied walnuts and raspberries with a Champagne glaze and gold dusting, all crowned in a sugar cage. It was impressive to behold, not to mention delicious, and garnered positive feedback from the hundreds of attendees and a second place nod.
We talked to Rucker over sweet treats at Baum’s Fine Pastries and Chocolates on Airline Highway about dessert, how she likes her steak, food integrity and more. Read on:
First, tell us about that Fête Rouge experience.
I love brownies, so I was at work [leading up to the event] making and eating them the whole time. People would come by asking for a bite and I was like, “No, no. I can’t let you try these yet.” I set it up beforehand, what I wanted the dessert to look like. I didn’t know, because it was my first trip, how much I needed to have ready beforehand. So I was ready with everything when I got there.
How did you feel about your final product?
Sugar cages can be very temperamental, especially down here in Louisiana. I really hoped they were going to work out and I didn’t know how it would come across. But everything turned out good for my first try. I felt good about it. I like the rush of it. Being in there, you have to go, go, go, and then it’s over.
You graduated from Culinard at Virginia College. Can you tell us about that?
It was really tough. Our instructor was hard on us, but she was a real teacher. She kind of helped me through it and got me where I needed to be. Still, I could call her right now for help and she’d be like, “Yeah, I got you.”
Were you always interested in making desserts?
I did savory first at culinary school. You do a little cross over. But my instructor was more like, “I think you might be a pastry chef.” I was kind of offended at first. It’s something I like, but it wasn’t dead on. She said, “You are very meticulous with the way you do pastries.” Something about baking brings out that meticulous side in me.
Upon moving back to Baton Rouge, you worked at the Rum House first before the more upscale French Market Bistro. How did you make that transition?
I talked to my former teacher/mentor, and she told me to put a strong year under your belt before you move on. So I did, and I actually applied to Mansurs, the sister restaurant of French Market Bistro. I just got the email from French Market Bistro instead, and I thought it was a joke. I didn’t apply to this place. But then I thought, OK. This is a good deal and a nice job. French Market has their clientele, their regulars. When I work the grill, I get to do a steak special every night and it’s whatever I want it to be, just as long as it has those key components.
When you’re not at French Market, where’s your favorite place to find steak in Baton Rouge?
Fleming’s. I love their steaks.
How do you like your steak?
I’ll take a steak medium. If I’m going [to Fleming’s], you know their temp is going to be dead on, so I’m going for medium. I don’t want any sauce or anything on it. I’ll take butter, though. I will take the butter.
What did you pick for dessert here at Baum’s?
I think they call these Magic Cookie Bars. I’m more of a cookie bar or brownie person. This has chocolate chips, toasted coconut and pecans on top. I’m trying to figure out what kind of cookie this is on the bottom. It’s good. It’s sweet and chewy.
When you are making dessert, what’s your favorite ingredient to use?
Chocolate, all day every day. I love it.
Least favorite?
Fondant. Oh my God. I hate the texture of it; I don’t even understand.
What’s been your biggest kitchen fail at home?
You know, yesterday I was cooking some rice. I don’t know what went wrong but when I went back and checked on it, it was just not together at all. It was just really gummy. I was like, I’m from Louisiana. I know I can cook rice. I was trying to do red beans and rice. The second batch was fine, but that first batch was like, this is not rice!
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What’s your ideal last meal?
Snow crabs … with good butter. I would do some hushpuppies, too. Give me a couple of those, and I’m good to go.
What’s your motto when it comes to preparing foods for others?
I believe in food integrity. I could really feed you anything if you don’t know any better. So I try to make sure I’m giving you a good product. I’m always looking for the best ingredients. Put good in, and you get good out. You’ve got to give people good food.
