Meet Annie Chapman: Head Butterologist / Dessert Specialist in the Butter-Lab

We had the good fortune of connecting with Annie Chapman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Annie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind my success is, without a doubt, the system of supportive and amazingly talented people I am blessed to know.

Somehow, I’ve convinced these people to not only spend time in my presence, but also to help me succeed. Of course, now I bribe them with cookies, but since the beginning I’ve been able to lean on my dear friends and family to help me succeed in areas that I am not familiar with. Bakers nowadays need to also be photographers, they have to design websites, check their own grammar, they have to be accountants, they have to be Instagram famous and make it big on YouTube! It’s a lot to take on by oneself, and I’m incredibly grateful to the people who help share some of those responsibilities with me.

More importantly, for me at least, knowing that all these people have given me so much of their time spurs me onward. I could never hang up my apron after having the people I love most in the world put so much of their energy into making my dream a success.

No pressure. I just have to be the next Mary Berry now.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Artistic and creative endeavors have a way of bringing people together, causing discussion (good and bad), sparking ideas — there’s so much more that comes out of an artistic piece than the item in question. But, out of all the “arts”, nothing measures up to the power of food. Food can unite people, it’s a vehicle for new experiences, food creates memories that are so strong and visceral, and it’s the easiest art to share. I love feeding people and making other people happy with my creations – it’s my favorite part of my business. Aside from butter, obviously, which holds a special place in my heart (my arteries).

To the end of creating a shared experience and space, I try to adapt or incorporate flavors from a variety of cultures. One of my favorite things is for a person who has never seen or heard of a flavor I love – ube, red bean, kumquat – to try it and find out that they love it too! I have had more conversations than I can count with LA natives who have never heard of ube, let alone tried an ube crinkle cookie, but they love it so much they go out in search of more foods like it. Now they have something new to share with their friends & families, and something new to enjoy about life.

It hasn’t been easy to get here, but it hasn’t been hard either. I’ve enjoyed the journey. Anyone who has read Kitchen Confidential can have some picture of what life is like in this industry. It’s hard work, it’s demanding physical labor, it’s long hours, but it’s so fun. You get to create, and eat your creations, and see other people enjoy your creations. Also you get to shout a bunch, so that’s cool. I originally went into pastry at the urging of Chef Erwin Tjahyadi. He saw my potential, somehow, and negotiated a stage for me at Broken Spanish. I walked in, told the chef “I know nothing but I would like to know everything.”, and my pastry journey officially started under the tutelage of Chef Ivan Marquez. Chef Ivan is one of my dearest friends to this day. I learned so many techniques from him. How to move quickly and work efficiently, how to make beautiful ganaches and temper chocolate. I never quite picked up his artistic way of plating, though. He’s truly a brilliant creator and a great teacher, and I still reference my recipes from those times and call him with questions.

Overlapping my time at Broken Spanish, I also worked at Spago in Beverly Hills, under Chef/Angel on Earth, Della Gossett. Chef Della operates in a very different way to most chefs in the industry. She doesn’t scream, but she doesn’t fold. She’s a strong leader and a true mentor to her staff. At Spago, a 300-cover night is to be expected. You have to push quality AND quantity. Chef Della showed us all how to do that. Take into consideration that every piece of a pastry has to be meticulously planned – nothing happens “on the fly”. There’s no taste-testing and there isn’t time for do-overs. On top of all that, Chef Della still manages to be one of the most controlled, thoughtful people you’ll ever meet. Makes you really stop and consider how you should act day-to-day.

Besides the profound and technical lessons I learned in professional kitchens, I have also learned the following which I think are great for day to day in any situation:
– Just add glitter. If that doesn’t work, add an additional color
– Keep pushing through until the end. Once you have everything together, it will look great. Halfway done, it looks like you’ve made a terrible mistake.
– Clean as you go!
– It’s important to eat

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When my friends come to visit, the main goal for me is to share as much food with them as humanly possible. I insist on taking them to Bone Kettle in Pasadena. 10/10 the most incredible bone broths and Southeast Asian food in California. But really, we just search out local small businesses and restaurants.

I do love to do “coffee crawls” also and visit small coffee shops around LA. I partner with a few shops now whose missions or owners I really connect with (Supa Coffee, Stella Coffee, or Cloverleaf Cafe), but I love to see and explore new places too!

Then, drink or snack in hand, meandering around local nurseries or the Huntington Botanical Gardens to stare at plants, I have time to catch up with my peeps.

Here are some of my favorite haunts and must-haves:
– Bone Kettle, Pasadena – Bone Broth & Oxtail Dumplings
– Hollywood Thai, NoHo / Thai Town – Yellow Curry & Pork Jerky
– Pho 79, San Pedro – Any beef broth & Chả giò
– Fugetsu-Do Confectionary, Little Tokyo – Mochi
– Supa Coffee, West LA – Miso Latte
– Cloverleaf Cafe, Temple City – Vietnamese Iced Coffee
– Stella Coffee, West LA – Matcha Garden
– Cafe Demitasse, Little Tokyo – they have a seasonal menu with items made by the baristas! Always fun!
– Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino
– San Gabriel Nursery, San Gabriel
– Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery, Sawtelle
– California Cactus Center, Pasadena Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout has to go to the mentors who have set me on my pastry path – Chef Ivan Marquez, Chef Della Gossett, and Chef Erwin Tjahyadi. Without them, I would have no foundation in food.

Website: butter-lab.com

Instagram: butter_lab_LA

Image Credits
All images are credited to Arian Mahboubian Photography.