Ben-Nadav Hafri
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Bimbo Bakeries, his employer, claimed there was some deep mystery to how Thomas' English muffins were manufactured, and this, it seemed to me, had given them all too much power. My plan was to test a reverse-engineered muffin against Thomas's to see if anyone could tell the difference. If not, that would end the mystical power of their secret. but I lacked the necessary skills to do this alone.
Bimbo Bakeries, his employer, claimed there was some deep mystery to how Thomas' English muffins were manufactured, and this, it seemed to me, had given them all too much power. My plan was to test a reverse-engineered muffin against Thomas's to see if anyone could tell the difference. If not, that would end the mystical power of their secret. but I lacked the necessary skills to do this alone.
One baker asked me for several thousand dollars to do the job. That's not crazy, seeing as the secret recipe brings in almost half a billion a year for bimbo. But for a complicated set of reasons involving journalistic ethics and poverty, it was a non-starter. I needed a true believer. I needed a zealot. I needed a superstar.
One baker asked me for several thousand dollars to do the job. That's not crazy, seeing as the secret recipe brings in almost half a billion a year for bimbo. But for a complicated set of reasons involving journalistic ethics and poverty, it was a non-starter. I needed a true believer. I needed a zealot. I needed a superstar.
This is a clip from a 2014 episode of the short-lived cooking channel show, Donut Showdown. If you've never seen Donut Showdown, congratulations.
This is a clip from a 2014 episode of the short-lived cooking channel show, Donut Showdown. If you've never seen Donut Showdown, congratulations.
Three contestants compete in a variety of donut baking challenges for a $10,000 prize. This episode featured a former architect, a pastry chef with a background in molecular gastronomy, who says things like, I am the overlord of pastry.
Three contestants compete in a variety of donut baking challenges for a $10,000 prize. This episode featured a former architect, a pastry chef with a background in molecular gastronomy, who says things like, I am the overlord of pastry.
and Rachel Wyman, head baker at the Montclair Bread Company.
and Rachel Wyman, head baker at the Montclair Bread Company.
Rachel Wyman has a baker's warmth about her. Angular red hair, a little like Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog. She's a total badass. She's got a tattoo on her arm that says, flour, water, yeast, salt. Of course, she makes it to the final showdown. It's Rachel versus the overlord of pastry.
Rachel Wyman has a baker's warmth about her. Angular red hair, a little like Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog. She's a total badass. She's got a tattoo on her arm that says, flour, water, yeast, salt. Of course, she makes it to the final showdown. It's Rachel versus the overlord of pastry.
Rachel lands on avocado whipped cream on a tres leches donut with the sangria filling. The food scientist is going with a nacho-flavored donut. To my mind, these both sound disgusting. But in the midst of it all, Rachel is having a beautiful mind moment with her flower.
Rachel lands on avocado whipped cream on a tres leches donut with the sangria filling. The food scientist is going with a nacho-flavored donut. To my mind, these both sound disgusting. But in the midst of it all, Rachel is having a beautiful mind moment with her flower.
It turns out that Rachel is a dough genius. But was it enough?
It turns out that Rachel is a dough genius. But was it enough?
Rachel gets emotional. I get emotional. Because what I see before me, at last, is a baker who just might be crazy enough to take on the secret recipe for Thomas' English muffin. I look her up. She teaches baking and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of America, the most prestigious culinary school in the country. The CIA.
Rachel gets emotional. I get emotional. Because what I see before me, at last, is a baker who just might be crazy enough to take on the secret recipe for Thomas' English muffin. I look her up. She teaches baking and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of America, the most prestigious culinary school in the country. The CIA.