In a secular society, what counts as heavenly work? In the case of pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz, the black cardamom sticky buns at Flora Bar come to mind—a morning attraction on the menu since the elegant canteen beneath the Met Breuer opened in the fall of 2016. So do her flower-festooned layer cakes, whipped up for birthdays and weddings. Or one could point to her annual Planned Parenthood bake sale at sister restaurant Café Altro Paradiso: an exuberant, sidewalk-level affair that corralled high-profile chefs and bakers, raising $132,000 in its three-year run.
The 2020 bake sale, like everything else this year, got swept up in the undertow of the pandemic. When New York City’s restaurants shuttered in mid-March, Pickowicz—a James Beard nominee for her work at Flora Bar—found herself furloughed; by early July, her job officially dried up. “It was fucking terrible. I was devastated,” Pickowicz said in a recent call. As restaurants grapple with rent and payroll and safety concerns, she explained, “pastry does not seem to be a part of that conversation.” (The irony of being nominated for a since-evaporated role didn’t last long: Next month’s Beard Awards have just been canceled outright.)
Still, there’s salvation in the kitchen for Pickowicz, who recently wrapped a five-week pop-up at Brooks Headley’s Superiority Burger, in Manhattan’s East Village. “Brooks is truly a punk—and what I mean by that is he is one of the most selfless and generous people,” she said. “There’s this spirit of punk that’s very ‘What’s mine I want to share. Money has no value here.’” That community spirit continues to the next project for Pickowicz, who is co-organizing the soon-to-launch Bake Sale Project: a resource hub for this particular variety of grassroots protest. “We’re in this insanely potent civil rights movement right now, and people are looking for ways to actively engage their communities beyond social media, beyond petition signing,” said Pickowicz. For those looking to cost out bulk pastries, liaise with nonprofits, or hear first-hand stories (such as from Bakers Against Racism), this will be a guide.
Pickowicz is seeking out the bright spots in an untethered time—as seen in this three-day wellness diary, chronicling the final weekend of her pop-up. “Somebody described the desserts that we were doing at Never Ending Taste as having a sense of wabi-sabi: It’s pretty fem, but also a bit skewed and not perfect,” she said, sounding pleased.
Friday, August 7
6:50 a.m.: My alarm is set for 6:30 a.m., but I snooze for 20 minutes before splashing water on my face, smearing on some sunscreen, and sprinting to the ferry landing on India Street. The first ferry from Greenpoint leaves at 7:17 a.m., and I’m meeting Kirsten Lee, my longtime pastry colleague, at the Union Square Greenmarket at 8 a.m.
This weekend marks our fifth and final dessert pop-up at Superiority Burger, a superlative vegan restaurant in the East Village that makes my favorite gelato in the city. Prior to the pop-up, I hadn’t traveled into the city at all, and was nervous about the commute. I have a nice rhythm now: The ferry scoots me across the river, and then I walk the 25 blocks or so to the greenmarket. It takes me three times longer than the subway, but I haven’t been on a train in five months and still don’t quite feel up to it. Besides, the early morning walk is reviving and fresh.
7:20 a.m.: On the choppy East River, salty wind on my face. I can’t leave my apartment without my headphones, even if I’m walking, like, one block. I take the longest walks, but I’m not one of those people that’s entertained by ambient street sounds. I like a private soundtrack. Today I pull up a YouTube link for the first This Heat album. “24 Track Loop” always makes me want to do triumphant Rocky-esque air-punches.