Category Archives: New Products

Take Five With Jessica Entzel Nolan, Former Gordon Ramsay Pastry Chef and Michelin Inspector, And Now Founder of Doughpamine

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Jessica Entzel Nolan, founder of Doughpamine, holding one of her Salty Chocolate Chunk gourmet cookies. (Photo by Monica Lo)
Jessica Entzel Nolan, founder of Doughpamine, holding one of her Salty Chocolate Chunk gourmet cookies. (Photo by Monica Lo)

At age 38, Pastry Chef Jessica Entzel Nolan of Novato has already racked up an illustrious culinary career that would be the envy of many.

Not only has she worked in the pastry department at the celebrated restaurants of Wolfgang Puck (Minneapolis’ 20.21 in the Walker Art Center), Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Spice Market in New York City), Gordon Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay at the London in New York City), and Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto Napa), but she also triumphed on Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen,” and fulfilled a dream of becoming an actual Michelin inspector.

Last summer, she launched the first company of her own, financing it, herself, with a small business loan. Playfully and aptly named, Doughpamine is her line of gourmet frozen cookie dough, now sold at 55 stores in the Bay Area, including Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco; Berkeley Bowl in Berkeley; Draeger’s stores on the Peninsula; and New Leaf markets in Santa Cruz and Aptos. The frozen cookie bags are also sold on the Doughpamine site for shipping nationwide.

The cookie dough comes in four flavors: the best-selling Miso Peanut Butter (salty-sweet-savory and buttery tasting); Salty Chocolate Chunk (comes with a tiny bag of Maldon to sprinkle on before baking); Rhapsody Road (super chocolatey with gooey marshmallows and crunchy almonds), and my personal favorite of Blueberry Corn (tastes like a quintessential corn muffin in cookie form).

The frozen cookie dough comes in resealable bags. (photo by Carolyn Jung)
The frozen cookie dough comes in resealable bags. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Bake as many as you want, whenever you want, in a 375-degree oven (either convection or non-convection) for fresh, warm cookies that are crispy on the outside and gooey-soft within, or as Entzel Nolan describes “medium-rare” perfection.

Look for the cookies served at San Francisco’s Flour & Water Pizzeria and the Bay Area’s Square Pie Guys, too.

Recently, I had a chance to chat with her about her childhood baking endeavors, what it was like working with world-renowned chefs, what it takes to be a Michelin inspector, and the meet-cute way she and her husband connected — and yes, it did involve food.

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Soup’s On With 18 Chestnuts

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18 Reasons Beetroot Apple soup that I garnished with a little parsley.
18 Reasons Beetroot Apple soup that I garnished with a little parsley.

Ilona Kossoff was running a commercial real estate company with her husband, when she decided to enroll in the Cornell University healthy living nutrition certification program, a move that would change the trajectory of her life.

As someone who suffered from digestive issues and followed a mostly plant-based diet, she decided to combine her new-found knowledge with her love of cooking soups.

Voila — 18 Chestnuts was born.

The Ashville, NC family-owned company makes shelf-stable vegan soups that are low fat, low sodium, and gluten-free.

The soups come in shelf-stable glass jars.
The soups come in shelf-stable glass jars.

She named the company for her love of chestnuts and because her best-selling Chestnut Maple Soup has 18 chestnuts in every bowl.

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Three Great Reads For the Lunar New Year

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“Invitation to A Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food”

Settle into your favorite chair and prepare to get hungry as you immerse yourself in “Invitation to A Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food” (W.W. Norton & Co., 2023).

London-based Fuchsia Dunlop has long been one of my favorite writers — and speakers. The first Westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, she is fluent in speaking, writing, and reading Chinese. Her knowledge of the foods of every region in China is bar none.

In her newest book, of which I received a review copy, the four-time James Beard Award-winning cookbook author explores the historical, philosophical, and technical aspects of the vast range of Chinese food by presenting a literary banquet of 30 dishes. Each chapter hones in on one particular regional dish, serving up not only its origins and the importance of its ingredients, but the food producers, farmers, chefs, and home cooks who have put their indelible stamp on it.

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Sensational Sips, Part I

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A pretty-in-pink gin.
A pretty-in-pink gin.

Malfy Gin Rosa

Have you ever spied a pink gin before? Me, either. At least not before receiving a sample bottle of Malfy Gin Rosa, an Italian gin that’s tinged a very pale pink from grapefruit.

Inspired by the Amalfi Coast, this gin gets a subtle citrus and bitter pith edge from Sicilian pink grapefruit, along with lemon. Juniper berries add characteristic pine and almost anise-like notes without veering into medicinal-tasting territory.

Just know, though, that because the color is so light, it won’t be visible once you add any kind of mixer.

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Get Ready For the Wackiest Chocolates Yet

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You have to taste these TCHO chocolates to believe them.
You have to taste these TCHO chocolates to believe them.

Imagine chocolates that taste exactly like Doritos dipped in queso.

Is your mind reeling yet?

Mine certainly was when I popped a sample of the new limited-edition TCHO Natchos into my mouth.

Yes, just in time for the Super Bowl, the zany minds at Berkeley’s bean-to-bar maker have outdone themselves with this latest creation.

Chief Chocolate Maker Brad Kintzer is a Philadelphia Eagles fan (don’t hold that against him), who started playing around with crafting a nacho-flavored chocolate bar in 2018 when his beloved team competed in (and won) the Super Bowl.

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