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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François
When chef and author Zoë François and her husband busted down a wall in their Lowry Hill home, they discovered an incredible old chimney, which they incorporated into the design of their new kitchen.
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François pastry shells
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François baked goods
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François prep area
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François prep area
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François
Zoë François
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François baking
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Zoë François pots and pans
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Zoë François chalk board
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Zoë François racks
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Zoë François cooling rack
A vintage wooden cooling rack from H&B Gallery for holding dishes.
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Kitchen
Still intact is the home’s original marble-clad kitchen, which now serves as a prep area, complete with a dough fridge and a vintage wooden cooling rack from H&B Gallery for holding dishes.
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François shelves
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
family
Zoë and her sons, Henri, 14, and Charlie, 12, knead dough from a recipe in her recent cookbook, The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François family
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François baking
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François baking
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François baking
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François baking
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Photo by Wing Ta of Canary Grey
Zoë François family
Baker
As the author of four cookbooks, the creator of zoebakes.com, and the mind behind the pastry lineup at Tilia, Zoë François is used to multitasking and sharing her bakery genius with the world. “It’s crazy in this day and age, you can’t just be a baker, you have to be a photographer and writer, too,” she says. “I have to put notes on the counter for my kids that say: ‘Please do not eat until photographed!’” Fortunately there is a semi-secret rolling pastry rack tucked into the kitchen island’s “garage” that helps organize freshly baked pre-shot goodies. Zoë and her husband, Graham, created such nooks when they decided to transform a bedroom and bath into a new kitchen in the back of their grand 1902 Lowry Hill home. Working with architect Gregg Hackett, who has a commercial kitchen background, and Blue Construction, which also did Icehouse and World Street Kitchen in Minneapolis, the team gravitated toward classic culinary utilitarian features, such as a Blue Star range, pot racks, crisp subway tile, and a three-inch, 600-pound slab of butcher block (which took six guys to carry in). Next up, they plan to add an outdoor pizza oven to do proper justice to the constant batches of olive oil dough that her fans consider to be the best in town.
Watch our video from the Zoë François photo shoot at mspmag.com/zoe
