DISCLAIMER: If you’re on a diet, don’t read this blog post. You may lose your self control.
Ah, donuts. Or doughnuts. Or whatever you want to call them. Names don’t really matter when you’re talking about lightly fried dough, frosting and sugar.
They’re delicious and supposedly a breakfast food (debatable, we think, but let’s not get stuck in semantics), and now for the first time in the Twin Cities, there are bakers selling crazy donut creations that would make Elvis proud.
The Donut Cooperative is a small group of donut aficionados whose goal is to bring great donuts to the Twin Cities. They don’t have a storefront bakery (yet), but you can find their delectable donut creations at random parties throughout the Twin Cities, and online via their Facebook Page.
Today is National Junk Food Day, and in honor of this day, we decided to interview The DoCo’s Dawn Lee about baking, donuts and the future of artisan donuts.
Yum.
The Red Chair: What/who is the Donut Cooperative?
Dawn Lee: The Donut Cooperative is a group of four people as of right now. We will be taking on more bakers once we secure a permanent space. Dawn Lee is the head of P.R./Events and general bossing around. Laura Kennedy is the head baker and unique flavor engineer. Sarah Slathar heads up the vegan donuts as well as all the random awesome gopher duties. Nicholas Drake is the business end of the donut - working out all the permits, forms and financial bugs.
TRC: I mean, I get it’s about donuts, but are you guys selling them somewhere, or are you just promoting donut integrity and general awesomeness?
Dawn Lee: Of course we are promoting general awesomeness! Until we raise enough money for everything that is needed for a store front (dishes, tables/chairs, etc…) We are currently taking orders for 2 dozen or more donuts - and we will deliver them to you/your business. You can find us on kickstarter.com; we need to raise $10,000 by Aug. 3rd. As of right now, people have donated almost $4,000! If we don’t get to $10,000, then we don’t get any of the money. We have incentives such as t-shirts, donuts named after you, and even catering for an event of your choice for donations at each donationdollar amount. If there is a flavor that you have always wanted, we’ll do it. We’re also interested in having our donuts at events around the twin cities.
TRC: Serious questions now, sorry…I’ve read in other interviews that your mission is to bring high-quality donuts to the Twin Cities. Talk to me about this. Do we have bad donuts here?
Dawn Lee: If we can get an ingredient locally, we will. If we can get an ingredient from a small farm, we will. Our main goal is to support other local businesses, because that is what is important to us. We don’t always use certified organic ingredients; and that’s because most small farmers can’t afford the certification. We want to support small businesses that are operating under the same values that we have. The donuts that are available to the people of the twin cities are o.k. There are no local bakeries that currently sell raised donuts - and do them well. It isn’t that the donuts that are out there are bad, it is that they aren’t pushing the idea of what a donut COULD be.
TRC: What makes a great donut? It is the topping or the dough?
Dawn Lee: Definitely both. We did a lot of research on what the major donut retailers use in their donuts. We quickly realized we did not want to use the same ingredients. I won’t name any names, but we came across ingredients such as pre-mixes, palm oil (noooo!) and chemicals that were scary sounding. These donut shops that get so much press don’t necessarily care about the same things we do. We would never use a ready made mix or an oil that is destroying the rain forest. We want to use the best locally sourced ingredients because it is the right thing to do.
TRC: Talk to me about your flavor creations. I’ve seen pictures and your donuts look epic. What are some of the crazy donuts you make and what are your favorites?
Dawn Lee: That’s a hard decision - we’ve made so many that it is like comparing apples and oranges. We recently did some with Peace Coffee’s Yeti Cold Press blend and locally sourced chocolate as a glaze that was VERY good. At the Cult Status Gallery show we had vegan raised with a raspberry Chambord glaze that was also phenomenal. We’ve been compared to Voodoo Donut in Portland; but we don’t actually make ‘stoner donuts’. We want to create awesome flavors, not just place cereal or Kool-Aid on top and call it good.
TRC: Cake or raised?
Dawn Lee: We all prefer raised. We’re still working on a great cake recipe for both vegan and non-vegan.
TRC: Is there such a thing as a savory donut? If not, can you make one for me?
Dawn Lee: We’ve been talking about a savory donut. If there are savory scones and muffins, then we can do a donut! We were thinking something with a spinach/cheese glaze. It can be done!
TRC: What are your backgrounds? What made you come to donut baking as work?
Dawn Lee: We are all from different backgrounds. Laura has been experimenting at home with baking forever, but she has a degree in Art History. Dawn has spent her whole life networking and people pleasing, with a background in handicrafts. Sarah had been making vegan desserts for small events and found us on facebook. Nick has a marketing degree and loves to take care of all of the legal aspects. We just decided that we were sick of the options for donuts and the area was oversaturated with gourmet cupcakes. We figured the next big thing would be artisan donuts, and if we didn’t get to it, someone else would - but they wouldn’t be doing it the way we would (local ingredients, giving a portion of profits to the community, operating as a co-op for the members).
TRC: Where can we find your donuts, and how do people contact you if they want in in all this goodness?
Dawn Lee: We’ll be updating our website with events as soon as we can, but you can follow us through our facebook page under ‘the donut cooperative’. Anyone is welcome to email us and request donuts for their event or place of business and we’ll deliver. You can reach us at: thedonutcooperative@gmail.com. And, remember, if you want donuts, spread the word about our kickstarter.com page…..if you can give, please do. We would love to offer our awesome donuts in a retail setting!
