SUNNYSIDE, Queens (WABC) — In this week’s Neighborhood Eats, we’re heading to a gelato shop that’s serving up something completely different during these colder months.
Instead of frozen treats, a local baker is showing off her skills, and she’s selling out almost every day.
Dovetail Bakery is located in Sunnyside, Queens.
Kate Kadet operates Dovetail inside Capilano Café, a gelato shop. She started the bakery a year and a half ago as a home project and grew it to the point where she needed more space.
It feels really nice to be part of the community. It’s been wonderful because I’ve connected with so many more people in the neighborhood
“The first thing that really got me into baking was when I was 12 and I made a fresh strawberry cream pie for my friend’s birthday.”
By college, she was baking all her own bread to save money, and because it tasted better. She ran a small catering business in her early 20s before deciding to give baking a real shot.
“When I started Dovetail about a year and a half ago, I approached a couple of different local businesses about doing pop-ups. I came in here and asked if they wanted to do an ice cream sandwich pop-up with my cookies and their gelato. From there, we started talking and decided this could be something to try out.”
The gelato shop has a tiny kitchen, but Kate has a creative workaround:
“They own the pizzeria next door, so I use that kitchen in the mornings before they open.”
When it came time to choose a name for her bakery, she went back to an old idea.
“A few years ago, I said I would write a cookbook. It hasn’t happened yet, but the idea was ‘Dovetail,’ where all the recipes and ingredients dovetail together. It’s a woodworking joint, and that’s my philosophy in cooking and baking, everything fits together, and there’s no waste.”
A few years ago, I said I would write a cookbook. It hasn’t happened yet, but the idea was ‘Dovetail,’ where all the recipes and ingredients dovetail together. It’s a woodworking joint, and that’s my philosophy in cooking and baking, everything fits together, and there’s no waste.
Kate is always experimenting.
“I’m always creating. I want new things, but I don’t want them to be outlandish – just familiar with a twist.”
She points to her ham-and-cheese croissant as an example:
“Here I am in an Italian gelato shop, so I’m using smoked prosciutto, which is speck, and smoked mozzarella. It’s what you know, but a little different.”
Every month, something on the menu changes.
She always keeps staples like her pistachio scone with orange blossom glaze, but rotates others.
“Right now I’m doing one with dark chocolate and nuggets of marzipan. In the fall I had brown butter fig. In the summer I might use cornmeal and blueberries.”
She even makes savory scallion pancakes.
“I use fresh scallions, Maldon salt, sesame seeds, shortening, chili oil and crisps – because they’re the best.”
Today, she’s making the chocolate filling for her chocolate buns.
“I have a tried-and-true bun recipe. I’m just playing with fillings and textures. This one uses the same filling as my chocolate babka.”
The dough is twisted just like her cardamom buns, that signature shape she’s become known for.
Kate says each item has its place, but she’s always refreshing the menu.
“I’d say I have staples, but at least one flavor switches out every month or so.”
When she opened, there wasn’t a bakery north of Queens Boulevard in her neighborhood, no place to get fresh sourdough. That made her presence even more special.
“It feels really nice to be part of the community. It’s been wonderful because I’ve connected with so many more people in the neighborhood.”
Dovetail Bakery will be doing a popup at The Jolly Goat in Hell’s Kitchen on March 7 and 8.
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