On the Line

ON THE LINE WITH CRISTINA ROJASAGURCIA

“The Batchmaker,” still sells out of her signature treats since she expanded from home to brick and mortar alongside LaCa Projects

BY TAYLOR BOWLER

Age: 33

Family Status: Married for 8 years to husband, Pablo, mother to Jose na, 4, and Joaquin, 2

Hometown: Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Currently lives: Highland Creek area

Currently reading: Untamed and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Where does your love of baking come from? Everything that’s on the menu is because I’ve craved it and thought it through while I was running. My love for baking comes from my love of food, and I’m so lucky it makes sense in my head what ingredients work together.

When did you realize you had a gi for baking desserts? I’m still waiting for the “I’m good at this!” moment (laughs). The community I’ve found is probably my favorite part of it all. I realized how special they are when people showed up with cream cheese because I mentioned I couldn’t nd any. Things like that happen so o en.

How long was The Batch House a dream for you? I was baking from home, and it was becoming too popular for me to keep doing it from my house. I started looking for places and stumbled upon the opportunity to take over a co ee shop that had closed. It’s located in a gallery building that showcases a ton of Hispanic artists, and it’s kind of cool being a part of that as well.

THE BATCH HOUSE

1429 Bryant St. thebatchmaker.com What’s your favorite thing to bake? Brownies or apple crumble. The second the air outside starts to feel and smell like fall, I hit the oven for an apple crumble and top it with ice cream. THE TOUGH STUFF

Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate Co ee or tea? Co ee! I’ve been drinking it since I was 2 years old, no joke. It’s a Hispanic belief in some countries that it toughens your immune system! And I never get sick, sooooo...

Cake or pie? Cake! I don’t like eating or making pies Crunchy topping or sweet drizzle? Sweet drizzle Ice cream or hot chocolate? Ice cream all day, every day Baked or fried? Fried

Street eats or sit-down? Street eats

Facebook or Instagram? Instagram Cristina RojasAgurcia opened The Batch House in October 2019.

What’s one recipe you’d still like to master? Pound cake. My mother-in-law makes the best pound cake, and back home in Honduras there’s a bakery with the moistest, most amazing pound cake, too (it might be Honduran butter and eggs). Mine are OK, but never like theirs.

What’s your kids’ favorite treat you make? Jose na loves strawberry cake (because it’s pink) or Pop-Tarts. Joaquin loves anything with chocolate—that boy has his mama’s love of chocolate down pat.

What’s your favorite restaurant in Charlotte? Soul Gastrolounge is up there. I love The Cellar at Duckworth, Dot Dot Dot, Barcelona Wine Bar, and Dilworth Tasting Room, too.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure? I don’t watch much TV, but I do love cheesy rom-coms, and I’m obsessed with Kevin Hart and The Rock. I’ll want to go to the movie theater to watch all their movies as soon as they come out.

What’s next for The Batch House? Hiring more help in the kitchen and possibly nding a second kitchen o -site to rent and keep up with production.