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e a s t c o u n t y l e a d e r
july 2013
6
FOOD
Few professional chefs willingly ad-
mit to their first efforts in the kitchen.
Monica Neffendorf, pastry chef at
Banaka and Browns Artisan Bakery in
downtown Gresham, isn’t quite that shy.
“My first cake was a birthday cake
for my friend in her Easy Bake Oven,”
Neffendorf said, laughing. “The frosting
was a whole bunch of sugar and milk.
I’m sure it was gross. But we sliced it
up and served it to her parents and they
said, ‘Oh this is the best cake ever.’ It
was so bad.”
Neffendorf has come a long way,
from that humble and humbling begin-
ning. These days, the spunky 25-year
old is the reason why crossing the
threshold of Banaka and Browns in-
stantly adds to the waistline.
Every morning at “O-dark-30,”
Neffendorf fires up the ovens in the
historic building on Main Avenue and
plans her menu for the day. By the time
the bakery opens at 7 a.m., the pastry
counter is overloaded with fresh muf-
fins, scones, cinnamon rolls and coffee
cake. She also prepares Italian Herb
Focaccia for Panini sandwiches and re-
cently, introduced homemade bagels.
Neffendorf admits to an artistic na-
ture and once considered applying to
art school. But after developing a love
for cooking, via her mother, she found a
way to combine her two passions.
“Baking is artistic and it’s still cre-
ative,” Neffendorf said. “You eat with
your eyes first, so it has to look good.”
After graduating from the Culinary
Institute of Portland in 2008, Neffen-
dorf took a job with the Portland City
Grill. A year later, she signed on with
Mehri’s Bakery and Deli in the Wood-
stock area of southeast Portland. But
she quickly grew tired of mass produced
plated desserts and began looking for
ways to stretch her wings.
“There wasn’t a lot of wiggle room
to do what I wanted to really do,” Nef-
fendorf said. “When I saw (Banaka and
Browns owner Cindy Wich’s) listing for
here, I knew this is what I wanted. It’s
rustic and I can bake like grandma used
to bake. Most places have a list of reci-
pes they want you to use. But Cindy
lets me create my own and that’s why
I love my job.”
Neffendorf ’s Lemon Blueberry
Muffins (see recipe below) stem from a
basic recipe she created herself. Lately,
she’s been making good use of locally
grown blueberries, but any fresh fruit
can be used, she said, adding that the
muffins also freeze well.
“The recipe makes about 12 big
muffins, but it will probably make
more if they’re a smaller size,” Neffen-
dorf said. “And with all the fresh fruits
now, you could make a whole bunch
of blueberry muffins and have some in
the winter when you get a craving for a
blueberry muffin.”
Regulars at Banaka and Browns
know well the soft, biscuit texture
of the bakery’s signature scones. The
Banaka and Browns Artisan Bakery’s pastry chef finds creative satisfaction in the kitchen
Mixing art and baking is a recipe for success
S t o r y b y A n n e E n d i c o t t
Moni ca Nef fendorf once cons idered
app l y i ng to art school . Instead , she
f i nds art i st i c and creat i ve sat i sfact ion
i n the k i tchen at Banaka and Browns
Art i san Bakery i n downtown Gresham.
"You eat with your eyes first,
so it has to look good."
Monica Neffendorf
pastry chef at Banaka and Browns Artisan Bakery
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