Taste of Local with Aubrey Blanchette at her Coffee House and Bakery: 'I love to bake'

Deb Cram, Portsmouth Herald
·7 min read

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Aubrey Blanchette is only 25 but she has much experience, being in the baking business since age 14 and the owner of Aubrey’s Coffee House and Bakery, which she opened at age 22.

She's used to doing it all.

"I juggle between baking, being a barista, placing orders, taking inventory, cheering my team on, organizing, cleaning, washing dishes, keeping paperwork in order, managing social media, and so on," she said.

Blanchette, featured in our latest Taste of Local video at Seacoastonline.com and Fosters.com, wants people to know the business caters to safe food for people who need to eat gluten-free. She also recently added a salad bar, adding a healthy option to her offerings of baked treats.

Aubrey Blanchette, owner of Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine, has recently added a gluten-free salad bar to her selections of coffees and pastries.
Aubrey Blanchette, owner of Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine, has recently added a gluten-free salad bar to her selections of coffees and pastries.

Here's how Blanchette responded to our Taste of Local interview questions:

Where are you from? I am from South Berwick, Maine. I’ve been living here my entire 25 years of life. My mom grew up in South Berwick and never left, and I plan to do the same. I love it here.

Do you have a family? I have an amazing, super-supportive boyfriend, Jack, who is often seen at the bakery helping out when he isn’t working his "9-5" job. I really don’t know what I would’ve done without him these past few years. We have two golden doodle puppies, Billie Baker … she is about to turn 2 in December. Then there’s Phoebe, who is 8 months old. They are truly my light each day when I wake up and see them and when I get home at night. Dogs are the best. I also have an amazing mom, Trudy, who is quite literally my backbone and right-hand woman. She is always willing to help me at the bakery. When we first opened, there was honestly not many hours in the day you wouldn’t find her in my bakery kitchen. Opening a business is nothing short of tough, and when she realized I needed help, she dropped everything to do so, even if it meant her social life and sanity may be affected, ha! She is the best mom there ever was.

Aubrey Blanchette, owner of Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine, says she was a huge fan of the show "Friends" growing up and wanted to create the space in her shop for people to gather on couches and hang with friends.
Aubrey Blanchette, owner of Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine, says she was a huge fan of the show "Friends" growing up and wanted to create the space in her shop for people to gather on couches and hang with friends.

Why did you want to become a chef? I honestly was more interested in the coffee side of things when I first decided I wanted to open a coffee shop and bakery. I love to bake, but I think because I had already been doing it for so long (I owned an at-home cupcake business since the age of 14), the thought of something new like creating and mixing new drinks sounded so fun! I really wanted to focus on that and how to come up with some of the best coffee drinks.

What made you want to work in a restaurant in South Berwick, Maine? I always knew if I were to open a brick and mortar business I would want it to be in my hometown, South Berwick. Like I mentioned before, I love it here. I love the supportiveness from the community, the small town feel, the amazing businesses around us, and knowing I’m adding something to the town means a lot to me.

A chilled coffee and colorful scone are some of the choices at Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine.
A chilled coffee and colorful scone are some of the choices at Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine.

Where did you train and for how long? Funny story actually, I went to school for teaching. I got my associates degree in elementary education because I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher for the longest time (or a home ec. teacher). Then one day I had the idea of opening a coffee shop and bakery but just thought it was a dream and unrealistic. My mom reminded me, anything is possible if you work hard and believe in yourself. So I talked to my amazing counselor at York County Community College and decided to switch lanes and focus on baking. My intention was to take culinary courses but I ended up getting two jobs as a barista at Popovers in Portsmouth and Starbucks in Kittery. I’m a hands-on learner and it was really cool to learn things while working, especially at two very different places. Then the opportunity to open the bakery happened and I just went for it. I have learned so much along the way. I also had worked at Cupcake Charlie’s, formerly in Kittery, Maine. I got to learn how a bakeryruns and actually got to open and close on my own which taught me how to manage lots of tasks. That’s when I learned how I would want to run my own bakery if I ever owned one. I wanted to make sure I was a supportive, kind, uplifting boss. I look at my employees as a team and I’m just their coach. I am there to guide them, but really they are putting in lots of hard work for me to make my dream be a successful one, and for that I am so grateful for them. I truly can’t express how amazing they all are.

What did you learn in your training? I took some cake courses at Michaels craft store when I was a young teenager and learned the basic skills of frosting cakes, making frosting, fondant, gum paste flowers and decorating cakes. That’s when I learned cakes just aren’t my thing … I prefer the science part of baking, the mixing of ingredients, coming up with new recipes and combinations, scooping and baking. Decorating cakes is such an amazing skill some people have and I am just not one of those people. I’ll stick with my cupcakes for now.

Aubrey Blanchette, owner of Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick loves the community she lives and works in and hopes people will stop in the shop to relax and enjoy some beverages, food and gluten free salad bar.
Aubrey Blanchette, owner of Aubrey's Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick loves the community she lives and works in and hopes people will stop in the shop to relax and enjoy some beverages, food and gluten free salad bar.

Have you worked in any previous restaurants? If so, where? As mentioned above, I worked at Popovers in Portsmouth and Starbucks in Kittery as a barista. I worked at Cupcake Charlies as a baker. I also worked at the former Thompson’s Second Alarm in Dover, where I was a waitress. I’ve been a daycare teacher, substitute teacher at Central School, and a sales associate at the Gap outlet. I have learned lots about customer service, organization, teamwork, and being able to multi-task. I was a nanny and babysitter for many, many families and absolutely love working with children which you will probably notice if you bring your kiddo into the shop. We all love kids (and dogs!!).

Have you won any awards? If so, what award and how did you feel winning it? The only award I have won so far was the Home Economics Award my junior year of high school. My teacher Mrs. Wager gifted me an awesome cookbook that you will actually find sitting on my shelf at the bakery. She recognized my love anddedication to everything home ec. related and that made me feel pretty special.

Are you involved with any community events? As a young business owner, I have struggled with managing time so I really haven’t been able to physically get involved with community events. However, I have made donations to many organizations, such as the Strawberry Festival, Central School, Marshwood Theatre, numerous sports teams and many more over the past two years and I hope someday soon I will be able to do more.

Is there a fun fact or interesting fact you'd like to share about yourself? I opened a cupcake business out of my parents' house when I was just 14 years old and continued it until I opened the bakery at 21 years old: Baking By Blanchette. I was extremely busy during the COVID pandemic and that’s when edible cookie dough came about and it really took off — you’ll find many different flavors on my bakery shelf today. We had a pickup out of my trunk system to keep safe during the pandemic and honestly it was one of the best times of my life. I’ve neverbaked so much before and it was clear I was adding joy to peoples lives during a difficult time. Another fun fact, a lot of my bakery items are named after my family members.

Who inspires you?Taryn Merrill, owner of FreshAF bakeshop in Kingston, New Hampshire. Taryn is absolutely incredible. She is such a determined, hard-working, amazing lady. It may sound funny to others, but seeing her posts daily and reading about how she handles stress/problems/sticking up for her team really inspires me to keep going. She’s like the Energizer bunny … I really don’t know how she does it and with a smile on her face!

More Seacoast chefs featured in Taste of Local videos:

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Aubrey’s Coffee House and Bakery in South Berwick, Maine