Rachel De Jong: Cou Cou Rachou

Cou Cou Rachou bakery owner Rachel De Jong grew up in a large
family in Charlottesville, Virginia. She credited her family with
helping her discover her passion in the kitchen.


"I'm one of five children, so food was around a lot. When you're
feeding seven people in the house, I was always in the kitchen, I
was always watching my mom. But I had a huge sweet tooth," she
said. "And of course, all my brothers always wanted cookies
around. My mom preferred to do the cooking, baking not quite, so
I just assumed the role and started baking all the time."


Her love of baking eventually landed her in school at Le Cordon
Bleu in Paris, France. 


Stints at Baker's Palette and Gearharts Fine Chocolates in
Charlottesville came next followed by the opportunity to work
with Chef Patrick O'Connell at The Inn at Little Washington.


Over her four years at the Inn, De Jong's kitchen experience
grew.


"The pastry department was baking for the gift shop, it was
baking the cookie boxes for favor, the little cute Inn boxes,
doing things for room service. Very often, we had VIPs in the
kitchen and dessert was one of chef's go-to's to make them feel
welcome and special and change up their dinner," she said. "He
never liked for people to get the same thing every time, he liked
to surprise them. So dessert was often one of those ways that he
would do that."


Then, after launching her baking concept during the pandemic, De
Jong opened Cou Cou Rachou in November 2021.


Listen to Eat It, Virginia to hear Rachel De Jong share how she
chooses ingredients for her croissants and pastries, what it's
like working before the sun rises, and how Julia Child inspires
her to this day.


This episode is sponsored by the Virginia Museum of
History & Culture and its new exhibit Julia Child: A
Recipe For Life.


Cou Cou Rachou


917 Preston Ave Suite B


Charlottesville, VA 22903 


434-270-0583


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