Scott Krevat likes a challenge. The 26-year-old Elmont resident recently completed a chemistry degree at NYU Polytechnic, and now he’s set on bringing macarons to the masses.
Krevat had his first macaron in May 2013, after he had just finished a grueling and intense four-year chemistry degree at NYU Polytechnic. That heavenly first bite came at just the right time for the post-grad.
“School was really stressful and rigorous, so I wanted to take some time to decompress,” Krevat said. “I needed time to figure out what I was going to do. Honestly, chemistry is boring. I loved it at school but I wanted something where I could be out there talking to people, not by myself in isolation.”
Krevat set out trying to find out more about the confectionery treat. He soon saw that the Long Island macaron market was almost nonexistent. For Krevat, who has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, this seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“You can get everything on Long Island, but you can’t get macarons. For there to be a gap in the market, I thought I had to do something,” Krevat said.
To meet that demand on the market, Krevat launched his own baking company The Bearded Baker, which operates out of a commercial kitchen in Westbury. While Krevat does bake cookies and brownies in his spare time, The Bearded Baker’s specialty is French macarons, not to be confused with macaroons, which have coconut and no flour. Macarons are meringue-based, made with almond flour, egg whites and granulated and powdered sugar. The filling is usually buttercream, ganache or fruit curd.
But making macarons is no easy task. It took Krevat 10 tries to get the recipe down and then about 20 more to get it to look right. Many variables affect the quality of the treat. They can’t have any water in them, meaning all utensils have to be completely dry, and too much air in the egg meringue can make the cookie crack or hollow on the inside.
“Chemistry helps with that. It’s like a lab. It’s very strict and I try to be very repetitive with my process because little variables can screw it up so quickly,” Krevat said, adding that he also has to be relaxed when he bakes. “If you go into the kitchen with any type of negative attitude, it shows right away in the cookies. It’s all about focusing on the kitchen and not letting anything bother you.”
And making the macaron is just half the battle. The bite-sized treats also have to look appetizing.
“They’re always delicious, it’s the way they look that makes the difference,” Krevat said. “You eat with your eyes. If something looks pretty and tastes great, it’s the best. But if it looks not that great, it’s disappointing to eat.”
After perfecting the French treats, Krevat set about his next venture: getting them into retailers. In July 2014, The Bearded Baker’s macarons debuted at a grocery store in Roslyn. One year later, the macarons can be found in five Long Island stores and Krevat also sells them at various farmers markets. He’s also expanded to creating his products in a commercial kitchen on Linden Avenue in Westbury, where he bakes 900 macarons every two weeks.
And though business at stores and farmer’s markets is booming, Krevat said the journey wasn’t always easy. But his chemistry background has helped him as a small business owner. He said his rigorous college program has taught him invaluable time management skills, as well as perseverance.
“In college, the first semester of organic chemistry I had no idea how I was going to get it done and I wanted to quit,” Krevat said. “But I’m not the type of person who quits things. I want to see things through to the end and go along for the ride and see how it goes, especially with something like the macaron business.”
As he learns more about baking and selling, The Bearded Baker brand has gotten even more popular and Krevat is now reaping the fruits of his labor.
“It’s still so surreal,” Krevat said. “It happened so fast, from toiling away and figuring it all out and failing, to finally having it work out. It feels incredible to have something that’s working and selling so much.”
Krevat’s macarons currently come in three flavors—Nutella, pistachio and almond. A box of six sells for $12. Find out more at www.beardedbaker.com.
