Brandon bakes to perfection(2)
"By this time, I was 25, and I'm from New Orleans, which is not a big city. And I hadn't lived in a big city yet and I hadn't yet lived abroad, so this opportunity killed two birds with one stone. Coming here meant that I would be living abroad in a big city, plus I was promoted into a management position instead of being a line cook. As a step for my life, all signs pointed to ‘yes'."
All of which has been great news for fans of authentic Cajun food, as Mr Trowbridge eventually set up NOLA with backing from investors. Cookie lovers are, of course, now also in luck and those craving freshly baked cookies have two ways to place an order.
The most scenic way is to visit Hutong Pizza in Houhai, where Mr Trowbridge is also a consultant, and where the Cookie's Cookies range is baked. "We use the Hutong Pizza kitchen and ovens to bake our cookies," said Mr Trowbridge. "At the moment, there's a board inside Hutong Pizza which shows the Cookie's Cookies varieties, and customers can order as though it was a physical shop. Cookies can be baked to order, but this typically takes around 20 minutes. Alternatively, customers can phone their orders ahead and then come and pick them up."
The main way, though, is to visit the company's website at www.cookiescookiesshop.com. As all cookies are baked on the morning of delivery to ensure freshness, online orders should be placed 24 hours in advance. "I would never bake cookies and then hold them to the next day and then deliver them," said Mr Trowbridge; and he also had some practical advice for cookie devotees looking to enhance the lifespan of their favourite snack: "We actually under bake the cookies so that they stay soft, and then you can refresh them in the microwave, which works wonders."
Mr Trowbridge has seen Cookie's Cookies develop steadily since it got off the ground just before the National Day holiday. "Orders are increasing, and we're currently getting around 7-10 orders per week," he said. Because of the need to ensure freshness, all of Cookie's Cookies business is attended to in the morning. "We open around 8, and we'll turn on the ovens, knock out whichever orders we have, check the inventory for the doughs, mix whatever we have to mix and aim to deliver by 11," said Mr Trowbridge. "After that, we'll order ingredients, such as butter and flour, to use for the next day's cookie orders."
Mr Trowbridge is also happy to receive customers' suggestions for cookie recipes, and clearly enjoys a good rapport with his clients. "It's easy to make different varieties," he said. "I think any suggestions customers give me, I can pop them right on the menu. I love new ideas and I always want to create something new."
According to Mr Trowbridge, traditional cookies have, to date, not been his best sellers, and he is constantly tweaking and playing with original recipes. "So far, the standout sellers have been coffee chocolate, molasses and ginger and the Key Lime Pie," he said. "Most of my base recipes are ones I grew up with, from my mom, grandma or mom's friends; I would ask for recipes for cookies which I thought, from my childhood memories, were great cookies. But, immediately after making them, I always think about how I can add some kind of a twist or change something, based on feedback or my own ideas."
Mr Trowbridge revealed that the name "Cookie's Cookies" was also inspired by one of his original, and most loyal, NOLA patrons. "One girl became a regular when we first opened NOLA, and she was also from New Orleans, so we made a connection," he said. She would always bring in different groups of friends, and for about a month, hers was the only table of customers downstairs! So, I got to know her, and every time she came, I'd send her cookies.
"She had one other good friend, who always came in with her, and her friend had a kind of short-term memory problem-she could never remember my name. So, since I was giving them free cookies, they started calling me ‘Cookie'. And in their phones it said ‘Cookie' and ‘Is Cookie coming today?' And I never knew this. One night, since we did become friends, we were out, having some drinks, and somebody slipped up and said ‘Cookie' to somebody else. And I said ‘What are you talking about?' They said ‘You!' Then they told me the story, about how they gave me the name. When I opened the cookie shop, it was the first name I could think of. I went through a lot of names, but this was one of the first, because it was already kind of a joke, a nickname."
Mr Trowbridge also commented that one of the most difficult aspects of choosing a name for a business in China is that the name must be translatable into both English and Chinese: "I went through a lot of names trying to find ones I could use for both sides. Usually, repetition helps for memory [in Chinese] so that's also why I chose Cookie's Cookies."
For the future, Mr Trowbridge is keen to expand into selling his signature Cookie's Cookies in small mall outlets, as well as possibly opening his own Cookie's Cookies shops. "There will be a physical Cookie's Cookies shop in front of Hutong Pizza. We'll maybe only bake 3 varieties a day for the physical shop, because I want them to be fresh-baked. We'll change the varieties every day.
"I'd also like to see some small outlets. One NOLA customer, who lives in Shanghai, also ordered some cookies while he was here in Beijing. He said that he'd like to open a branch of Cookie's Cookies in Shanghai. I told him, ‘Well, we haven't been open a month yet, let's see how things go'. But, it would be awesome. Even small outlets in the malls here, I've seen muffin shops, so I don't see why fresh baked cookies wouldn't work also. We'll see what happens."
