Business & Tech

New Food Cart Features American Baked Goods in French Traditions

Hot Hot Bakery debuts Tuesday morning in Ballston. It will operate Tuesdays through Fridays throughout Arlington.

Hot Hot Bakery, a new food cart featuring French-style baked goods, will debut Tuesday along North Stuart Street near the Ballston Metro Station.

For Chris Deutsch, it's the first major step toward eventually realizing a dream of owning an artisan bakery the likes of which he says isn't seen in the greater Washington area.

Deutsch, who grew up in Paris and other parts of Europe, said he always enjoyed going to the local bakery and saw an opportunity to build something similar here.

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"We don't do anything quickly at all. We just let the dough work itself out," he told Patch. "…It's a very old-style French way of baking."

The food cart will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays in Arlington and announce its locations on Twitter @hothotbakery.

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It's core menu includes pastries and doughnuts for breakfast and sandwiches on fresh baked bread for lunch. Desserts and other specials will be added as the menu evolves.

Deutsch, 32, described his baking style as producing "thick crusts, golden colors and moist interiors."

About five years ago, Deutsch realized he wasn't happy with his career at the State Department. Growing up experiencing different cultures and foods instilled a passion within him for the culinary arts, and so he decided to follow that.

At one point, Deutsch got a call from a couple of friends who own Pupatella, a pizzeria at Wilson and George Mason. Pupatella was expanding and needed a baker, he said. After getting the pizzeria squared away with its baking needs, Deutsch was given the chance to build his own business.

He'll be using Pupatella's kitchen space for early morning baking and other prep. And he'll be using the same cart that gave Pupatella its start once upon a time.

"It's kind of a way in without spending a hundreds of thousands of dollarsto test the waters, to see the response to the style of baking I'm doing," Deutsch told Patch.

Deutsch and his wife, Amy Fuller, spent a year eating, baking and working in France to prepare for the bakery they now own — including six months Deutsch spent working at a bakery in Paris.

"That's not to say we're exclusively French," Deutsch said. "What I like to explain to people is that we're opening a bakery, but eventually opening an American bakery with our products made with French traditions."

For more information, visit Hot Hot Bakery on the Web or follow the cart on Twitter @hothotbakery.


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