Event - Blackmarket Bakery Media Preview

We were honored enough to get a nice invite to see and taste some of the baked goods slated for offering once Blackmarket Bakery opens at its newest location - The Camp in Costa Mesa. If you haven't heard of Blackmarket Bakery yet, you need to get out of your hole in the ground and make your way either to their Irvine location (a small suite in a business park) or to their soon-to-open location in Costa Mesa (think after Christmas but before New Year's). Their owner/creator Chef Rachel Klemek not only will give you a tremendously great menu to choose from but also a passionate and very friendly personality that can only come from someone who loves to bake and invent for others.


We had more than our fair share of desserts that evening. From the black widow tarts (chocolate tart shell with a layer of caramel covered by decadent chocolate) to the pecan sticky buns (definitely, definitely sticky!) to the Blackstrap Betty cookies (the crunchy taste of fall) and more, Blackmarket Bakery's got its baked goods ready for the sweet tooths in Orange County. A whole pan of wild berry cobbler was out fresh from the oven too to our tummies' delight.


To be honest, my two favorites for the night were the banana butterscotch tarts (banana brulee-d atop a light butterscotch filling in a tart shell) and the grilled cheese sandwiches (in their cinnamon currant bread with mushrooms using a large panini press). The former was caramelized and sweet in just the right amounts and the latter perfectly savory and wholesome. Though they will be open even late into the night and there will be at least one staff member 24/7, the main focus for their savory items menu will be breakfast! Chairs and tables will be lined up under the wooden and steel ceiling which fits the bakery's constant "sci-fi" type of personality.


What makes this location different from the other one? While the first one started out to be a small retail business that expanded into being a provider for some corporate locations (high end coffee shops and other retailers), this one will grow to be more than just a bakery. Come here for your Kean drip coffee. Come here for your freshly pressed breads. Come here for actual breads because they have a large oven, a dough machine, and even a proofer. Come here just to come here and to see what passion and determination can knead out when put into the hands of the talented Chef Rachel Klemek, winner of the 2012 Golden Foodie Awards for Golden Pastry Chef. Oh by the way, pick up a t-shirt while you're at it.


Photography by Duc Duong. More photos available on Facebook.