HUNTERTOWN — Butter Mousse Bakery co-owners Randy Gerardot and Greg Jones specialize in making German- and Austrian-inspired baked goods like strudel, kaiser rolls, stollen and German rye breads.

“Randy is the driving force behind the bakery” Greg Jones said in an email. “The name and concept of the bakery was an idea he developed after spending more than a decade while working as a chef. Randy and I merged our skills and recipes later.”

Soft pretzels are their most popular item. While training in Austria and Germany, Gerardot got the recipe from a chef mentor and friend. After a bit of “tweaking,” the bakers have come up with their own version.

“They are made exactly the way the Germans first made them. No one else makes them the old-fashioned way that we know of around here,” Gerardot said.

The online store officially opened in November 2022. A desire for the best homemade baked goods prompted the decision to open a bakery.

“We want to make the best from-scratch breads and pastries using quality ingredients. No gimmicks, no mixes, convenience items or factory-made cheats. We are always striving to tweak and improve our products, so we are making the best product available with an emphasis on down-home and European-style baked goods,” Gerardot said.

Their training in the art of baking comes from a variety of sources. Besides European training in Germany and Austria, Gerardot trained in some well-known stateside establishments.

“I did a three-year culinary apprenticeship at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs through the American Culinary Federation. After I completed my apprenticeship I went to The Breakers, in Palm Beach where I was the sous chef. After 10 months The Broadmoor wanted me back, so I returned there and worked as the assistant pastry chef before being promoted to lead baker,” Gerardot said.

While Gerardot had more formal training in baking, Jones has hands-on experience in making homemade baked goods.

“My training was not as formal and more homespun. My mom would not allow ready-made things like cake mixes and instant mashed potatoes in her kitchen. So, if we wanted cake, she pointed to the cookbook and said, ‘it’s time you learned to make them’ … She taught me that the more natural the food, the better,” Jones said.

The name of the business, Butter Mousse Bakery, was not randomly chosen. It has a dual significance for the bakers. First, it is an essential ingredient for one of their confections. Second, the bakers see it as a path to effective advertising.

“It’s the type of cupcake icing we use. And (it) seems like it will incorporate well with our advertising and promotions. We envision a character we have named Oma Moose as being our spokes-moose. And she has a brigade of woodland critters to help us promote the business,” Gerardot said.

Choosing menu items to offer depends on several factors. These include everything from the skills of the baker to the humidity levels of the weather.

“We test the recipes and determine what our capabilities are with each of them. Summer can be a very humid time so some of the cookies we make need to be altered to turn out right. If altering a recipe lessens the quality, we make the item seasonal,” Jones said.

Eventually, the Butter Mousse Bakery would like to have an onsite presence as well as being online.

Additionally, wherever the onsite store is eventually located the bakers want it to be a pleasant drive for potential customers.

“We would like to have a brick-and-mortar store and are envisioning exactly where and how we want that to look. We do know that because we want to epitomize “homemade;” we want our location to be in an area without a lot of traffic or congestion. We want customers to have a relaxing ride to our bakery — and not have to fight traffic to get to us,” Gerardot said.

Currently, online ordering is the only option for the freshest German and Austrian inspired baked goods from Butter Mousse Bakery.

“Until we have a website up and running, we advertise through Facebook Marketplace when we have an event. We ask patrons to place their order through email at buttermousse@gmail.com, Gerardot said.

“When they contact us, we can send them the menu. We are taking orders Wednesday through Saturday for pickup from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and ask for a 24-hour window,” he said.

See more about Butter Mousse at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091050255300.