Love for Butter

Text by JERRY FANG Art by SAMANTHA HO

A Love for butter

LOCAL BAKER SETS UP SHOP AT ZOLA

LARGE GLASS WINDOWS frame rows of wine bottles atop tables. Flanked by navy walls, a tall rolling kitchen cart stands behind the counter, holding trays full of assorted pastries. Outside, there is no shortage of enthusiastic customers as the line stretches around the corner. The reward at the end of this wait is nothing more than an unassuming cardboard box, but from within comes a warm, sweet and savory aroma: the unmistakable smell of fresh baked goods.

Operating out of Zola restaurant in downtown Palo Alto, Love for Butter is a pop-up bakery offering a collection of classic and contemporary pastries. It is exclusively open on Sundays for online preorder pickup and walk-ins.

John Shelsta, the heart and soul of Love for Butter, grew up in Menlo Park, and fell in love with baking when he found himself working in the restaurant industry up and down the Peninsula. Shelsta opened up his first pop-up bakery in the summer of 2013, and has since gained a considerable following while running pop-ups on and off.

“I would do them [pop-ups] basically whenever I had extra time,” Shelsta said. “I do them for a few months, maybe once a month, and then I just wouldn’t do one for a year.”

Shelsta partly attributes his journey in baking to the croissant, his favorite pastry, which has been a longtime staple in his

PASTRY PREP — John Shelsta, the owner and baker behind Love for Butter, preps the dough for his iconic pastries as he continues to run his passion project during the pandemic. He loves to share his creations and see others happy. “As I’ve realized … over the last few months, it [baking] brings happiness to people,” Shelsta said. Photo: Audrey Joachim

menus. Over the course of his many popups, he has been perfecting the recipe to acquire a particular flavor, color and size.

“It still is constantly being tweaked and small changes are being made to only try and create an even better and better croissant,” Shelsta said.

When the pandemic first started, Shelsta found himself stuck at home in the Bay Area, but under these unexpected circumstances, he started up his passion project again.

“At the start of the pandemic, I wasn’t really planning on baking, but a few longtime customers knew I was back in the area and asked if I would be willing to make some stuff for them,” Shelsta said.

Despite the uncertain future, Shelsta has his eyes on the horizon with plans such as possibly opening a bakery of his own sometime soon. Intrigued by his passion, Verde tried some of his creations. v Croissant ($4) This classic pastry is large and encased in a golden-brown, glossy exterior. The crispy outside contrasts the buttery, soft and airy inside of slightly sweet dough.

Chocolate Candied Orange Sourdough Epi ($4) Despite its sweet-sounding name, this pastry is actually savory. Topped with chocolate chunks, it hides bright candied orange pieces inside. The sourdough combined with the bitterness of the chocolate and orange produces a natural, balanced flavor.

Kouign Amann ($4.25) This pastry is instantly recognizable by its irregular shape. The sugar coated shell hides layers upon layers of puffy dough inside with a pure sugar filling. This was my personal favorite and is definitely a must try for those with a sweet tooth.