It was while working as a lifeguard and in emergency medicine that William Werner started taking an interest in cooking and began working part-time in restaurants. After spending some 13 years working as a pastry chef at high-end restaurants and hotels, Werner felt ready to do his own Project, Craftsman and Wolves. “In San Francisco, we have this incredible food scene and lush history of amazing chefs and talent,” he says, “but the pastry chefs and bakeries are not involved in it.” That was something Werner wanted to change at his shop.
At Craftsman and Wolves, its Rebel Within, a muffin-shaped cake of sorts dotted with bits of housemade sausage, asiago and green onion and stuffed with a perfect soft-cooked egg, became the San Francisco’s pastry shop’s cronut. Even before pastry chef William Werner opened Craftsman and Wolves in 2012, the savory baked good had earned a loyal following from its appearances at the farmers market pop-ups at which the former Ritz-Carlton and Quince chef appeared.
“What I love about cooking is at the end of the day it’s manual labor. It’s very much working with your hands and body. But there’s also a huge amount of creativity, forethought and design that comes into play”
“What I love about cooking is at the end of the day it’s manual labor. It’s very much working with your hands and body. But there’s also a huge amount of creativity, forethought and design that comes into play”
Featured in so good #17
