Westfield couple plant their bakery flag in Morristown

By Ellen S. Wilkowe

Croissants and cakes and cookies. Oh, my!

Welcome to the Kirshenbaum Baking Company, the latest sweet shop to lay down roots in Morristown, calling 22 Schuyler Place home.

The husband-and-wife team of Uyen and Jeff Kirshenbaum opened their doors on Aug. 23, 2024. Just like their ovens, business is heating up.

“We always wanted to be a part of Morristown,” said Uyen, the lead pastry chef, who trained and worked in Paris.

A few years ago, the Kirshenbaums scouted locations around the Morristown Green, but said they were deterred by landlords who didn’t want a family owned shop too close to the historic square.

The couple established their first location in 2022 in their hometown, Westfield.  They said customers from there have been coming to check out the new shop, which sits beneath the new Lofts at Morristown apartments.

“We are very blessed to have established an awesome following,” Uyen said. “It’s a big part of our culture to find communities to contribute to.”

On a recent Saturday morning, the Morristown venue was in full swing. The Bergman family of Morristown raved about the chocolate croissant and croissant tuna sandwich.

“We like to try new businesses in town,” said Nicole Bergman, who discovered the shop while driving on Schuyler Place.

How did Jeff, who grew up in Fanwood, and Uyen, who was born in Vietnam, cross culinary and romantic paths?

Jeff’s background is in finance and accounting. He bailed from Wall Street to pursue his passion, hospitality. That led him to Los Angeles, where he owned and operated restaurants.

Uyen set her sights on the baking scene from childhood.

“I always knew I wanted to bake,” she said. “One summer, I got a job in a pastry department, which was my first ever kitchen experience. The chef said, ‘You’re going to culinary school,’ and it stuck with me years later.”

While Uyen attended the University of California at Irvine, she spent a summer in France and learned to speak French.

She also speaks Vietnamese, which she learned from her parents, who immigrated to the United States when she was one year old.

“My father was a translator for the South Vietnamese Army and worked with the U.S. Army as a liaison during the war,” she said. “With his Army experience and the help of my aunt who lived in the U.S., we were able to be sponsored.

THE BAKER AND THE BRAINS

After graduation from college, Uyen kicked off her career in the corporate world.  But that left her unfulfilled. She decided to trade in her business suits for aprons, and attended L’Ecole Lenôtre culinary school in Paris.

Proudly, she recounted becoming the first female pastry chef for the Guy Savoy Restaurant Group in Paris, and earning the title of “Rising Star” from StarChefs.com. After returning to Los Angeles, she landed the position of executive pastry chef for the Simms Restaurant Group.

The Kirshenbaums, who refer to themselves as “the Baker and the Brains,”  met — where else?– at a restaurant event in L.A.

The recipe for the Westfield location was baked during the pandemic, in the form of a gluten- and dairy-free cookie made specifically for Jeff, who has food allergies. The confection affectionately is named “Jeff’s Cookie,” which was front and center on display during our visit.

“It’s a flourless, dairy-free chocolate cookie,” Uyen said. “I call it a chewy brownie cookie.”

The couple started shipping this and other craft cookies, first to family and friends, and then nationwide.

Now customers can enjoy them fresh out of the oven and in person.

They have plenty of competition in Morristown: Verrilli’s Bakery, Swiss Chalet Bakery & Café, The Artist Baker, Kings Food Markets, Whole Foods Market. The market is so tough that the Cake Boss himself, TV’s Buddy Valastro, packed up and left in 2019.

The Kirshenbaums think their methodology will distinguish them.

“We pride ourselves in that we handcraft everything we offer,” Uyen said. “We use time-honored techniques to produce artisan products made with premium ingredients. “

In addition to managing two bakeries, the Kirshenbaums are raising two children: Rose, 7 and Duke 5, who just happen to be their parents’ biggest food critics. “They prefer our cookies the most in the bakery,” Uyen said.

So what is the couple’s recipe for marital harmony in the workplace?

For one, Jeff stays out of the kitchen. Instead, he minds the store and leaves the baking to Uyen.

Adhering to what she calls “baker’s hours,” Uyen arrives at work at 4:30 a.m. Jeff remains home to prepare their kids for school.

In the evenings, they all reconvene for dinner. “We want to have quality time with the kids,” Uyen said.

Kirshenbaum Baking Company in Morristown is open from Tuesday through Sunday, from  8 am to 3 pm.