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Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com
She (Times
gainesvilletimes.com
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Baguettes, inset, and caramel chocolate mousse cake are available at Braselton Fine Bakery.
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Sergio Ramirez, master baker at Braselton Fine Bakery, stands with bread he baked on Thursday, Nov. 8.
Nikola Foster, manager and baker at Braselton Fine Bakery, tops tres
leches cakes with fruit.
It’s back to
school for
new bakery
in Braselton
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
Sergio Ramirez walks through
the back doors of an old, now-unoc-
cupied primary school, through the
cafeteria and to the kitchen, every
morning around 4 a.m. He’s there
to do what he does best and what
he says he fell in love with 30 years
ago: Bake.
As the master baker at Braselton
Fine Bakery, which had its grand
opening in October, Ramirez
makes sure there’s fresh bread,
pastries and cakes every morning.
“Baking, everything starts so
early,” Ramirez said. “I want to
make sure the store is full before
noon. By 8 o’clock, all the Dan-
ishes and croissants are there, still
hot, and by 10 o’clock, I’ve got the
bread.”
The bakery on Brassie Lane in
Braselton only takes up a small
space, but its shelves are full of
fresh bread — ciabatta, sourdough
and simple wheat, all stacked in
baskets. The pastry case has cook
ies, Danishes, croissants, scones,
galettes and turnovers along with
an assortment of cakes.
Braselton Fine Bakery is
owned by Cotton Calf Kitchen,
and Ramirez makes all the baked
goods for the restaurant — from
burger buns to table bread to
desserts — while keeping the
brick-and-mortar retail shop fully
stocked for visitors.
Vincent Price, general manager
at Cotton Calf, said he wanted to
bring the restaurant’s baking in-
house. He’d have better control
over the quality while also cutting
the cost of having some delivered
each week. So when he saw the
opportunity to take over Sweet
Delights Bakery in Braselton, he
and the rest of his team jumped
on it, completely rebranding the
business.
“We saw there was a need for
a bakery in the area that offered
Braselton Fine
Bakery
Where: 84 Brassie Lane,
Braselton
When: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday through Saturday,
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
More info: Online
Contact: 706-824-0008
French-style Danishes and pas
tries and things of that nature,”
Price said. “And we decided that
we would start bringing things
in-house, so this was our first
attempt.”
Ramirez was the perfect fit
to make that happen. He moved
to New York in 1989 where he
worked at Carlo’s Bakery, from the
TV show “Cake Boss,” and Baltha
zar Bakery, another well-known
shop in New York. He moved to the
South, met Matt Ruppell, a partner
with Cotton Calf, and the two hit it
off. Before long, Ramirez was the
master baker at the new Braselton
bakery.
“I worked in restaurants for
about 10 years, but I like baking
better,” said Ramirez, who’s origi
nally from Mexico City. “Baking is
kind of like chemistry. You have
to blend some fats with some drys
and sugars and, voila, you can
come up with anything.”
But there was a small problem:
There wasn’t enough space to do
the baking in the actual bakery.
What used to be West Jackson
Primary School sits about a half-
mile down the road. Ramirez saw
it and figured there had to be a
kitchen in the school, so they rent
the space and now do all the bak
ing out of a place that once held
students, teachers and lunchroom
workers.
Christmas lights still hang from
the ceiling in the lunchroom, which
now serves as storage for the bak
ery. The walls inside the kitchen,
along which children used to line
up and wait to be served their meal
for the day, still have cartoon-like
animals painted on them: A camel,
pig, kangaroo and others watch
as Ramirez mixes ingredients to
make dough.
While it’s a job that keeps him
busy — Ramirez said he works
at least 60 hours each week — he
does have some help.
Nikola Foster, a baker working
underneath Ramirez and manager
at the shop, makes sure every
thing runs smoothly at the retail
spot. She’s been at it since she was
14 years old and said she learned
everything on her own.
“Nobody else in my family
baked and they all wanted sweets,
so I just started doing it,” said
Foster.
On top of running the bakery
on a daily basis, Foster decorates
cakes, which she said is her favor
ite part of the job. Custom cake
orders, which allow her to be cre
ative, come in pretty frequently.
“It’s just what I love to do,” Fos
ter said.
The goal for Braselton Fine Bak
ery is to eventually provide breads
and pastries for many other res
taurants. Right now, though, Price
said it’s testing things out and
establishing itself within the com
munity, something it seems to be
doing a good job at.
The bakery was recently at a
farmer’s market and sold clean
out.
“We wanted to be approach
able,” Price said. “Even though
we have a wholesale division, we
wanted to have a retail spot so peo
ple can get to know us ... With the
retail spot, you can come in, buy a
Danish, buy a cookie or a cake and
see what we’re about. ”
New book series from President
Jacobs explores UNG campuses
NICK BOWMAN
nbowman@gainesvilletimes.com
A new series of children’s books explor
ing each campus of the University of North
Georgia has been published by UNG Presi
dent Bonita Jacobs.
The first book explores Dahlonega’s
campus and is titled “UNG The Gold I See:
The Legacy of UNG’s Dahlonega Campus,”
according to an announcement from the
university. The story follows a young boy,
Tommy, and his family on their visit to the
Dahlonega campus and includes tidbits
about the campus’ programs and its past.
“UNG’s Dahlonega Campus was estab
lished in 1873 and has a rich history punctu
ated by its military emphasis and filled with
tradition,” Jacobs said in the announcement.
The children’s book was illustrated by
J’Nelle Short.
The series can be purchased on the uni
versity’s website. The next book will cover
the Gainesville campus and is set for release
in 2019. UNG has other campuses in Cum-
ming, Oconee and Blue Ridge.
This information was compiled from a
University of North Georgia press release.
“UNG The
Gold I See: The
Legacy of UNG’s
Dahlonega
Campus” is a new
children’s book
published by the
University of North
Georgia. The
first book covers
the Dahlonega
campus, while the
next book explores
the Gainesville
campus and will
be published in
2019.
Image courtesy UNG
For The Times
