Artisan Foods of Berkeley

Their asparagus quiche is to die for. I have had it at Café Trieste. They used to carry it at Berkeley Bowl as well, but I think they started selling the Berk. Bowl brand quiche instead :(The poppyseed loaf cake is also delicious.

They have begun selling huge bundt cakes of 2 varieties at Monterey Market… they’re on sale as an intro price for $ 11/​each. have also seen their goods sold at various cafes and smaller independents.

You can’t actually buy any pastries here-​I found out trying to hunt down where to buy one of the artisans’ almond croissants with my mom. I called as my mom and I ended up in a residential area with no bakery around. The lady on the phone told me where I could purchase what I was looking for. So, my mom and I headed to the closest place (Jimmy Bean’s), I stood in line and ordered the last almond croissant and the cashier gave it to me for free, stating that the owner had called ahead and let her know that we were coming. What a treat! My mom and I pretty much inhaled the delicious-​ness!!!

It’s a B2B bakery. You’ll encounter their handiwork at local restaurants like Jimmy Beans, and some grocers like Berkeley Bowl.
They started strong. French and Italian pastries made in the time-​honored handmade tradition. Eclairs, tartes, croissants, biscotti, chausson de pomme, etc. Delicious, attractive, decent size.
Then they scaled up the operation. I’m knocking off a star for a drop in quality control. Sometimes you see an éclair that looks like a malignant kidney tumor. The Croissant aux Amandes (similar to a bear claw) has an almond paste filling. Yesterday it was less of paste and more like runny snot.
Lately the biscotti are almost impossible to find. The pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving had a soggy underbaked crust. Even I could do better than that and I’m known around the house as «Chef Oops!»
I’m hoping they get the growth spurt under control, or at least recognize the limit of what they can handle. It would be a shame to see it turn into a high speed food-​out-​money-​in pooping machine.