Leviathan Bakehouse with Pete Schmutte

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Pete Schmutte, owner and pastry chef extraordinaire of the newly-opened Leviathan Bakehouse in Indy, joins the show this week to talk about his path into pastry at a time when it seems that pastry jobs were disappearing and the career path might be dead. He persevered with the kitchen work he loved, progressing through the ranks in kitchens and bakeries in St. Louis and Chicago before ending up back in Indianapolis as the pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck, and then the now-closed Cerulean.

Fast forward to mid-2019 when Pete decided to open a place of his own, while simultaneously discussing the project with other pastry friends that aimed to open their own spaces. What came to fruition is an epic partnership of five of Indiana’s best pastry chefs to open Leviathan Bakehouse – a bakery run by all pastry chefs and operated by all five partners. Unfortunately, the ink wasn’t dry on the loans before the United States shut down due to COVID-19. Levaithan opened in mid-2020, at the height of the worldwide pandemic. But they seem to be keeping their head above the water. Hear what makes this incredible team uniquely suited to outlast the worst economic disaster since the housing crisis.