Made in Vermont: Small Oven Pastries

SHELBURNE, Vt. (WCAX) – If it’s a day that ends in Y, you can find Elizabeth Berman in the kitchen of what used to be Peg and Ter’s baking up brilliance. Berman owns Small Oven Pastries, whipping up meringues and macarons using fresh, local ingredients. But, her foray into French pastries wasn’t always part of her plan.

“Even though my mother and my grandmothers baked, it wasn’t part of my narrative growing up,” says Berman. “It really wasn’t until my 30s that I decided to learn how to bake.”

It started with a simple class at King Arthur Flour while working in higher ed. And, during a brief relocation to Boston for work, she took more pastry classes there, too.

“The first time I tried French macarons was after I baked them in one of the classes,” Berman says. After that, she was hooked. “Four ingredients, and like 600 different ways that it could go wrong. Sort of perfecting or learning the process of making macarons became very centering. It was almost like my Zen moment.”

She may have been burnt out on her career, but her baked goods were far from burnt. In fact, she quickly learned she had a real knack for nosh. So, after bowing out from higher education and moving back to Vermont, she opened Small Oven Pastries in October 2020. Business began with direct to consumer sales as she navigated the challenges that came with the pandemic. Supply shortages brought a unique set of obstacles, and new ideas.

“I had almost two months without a working oven, so during that time I was like… OK, what else can I make? The base for all macarons is meringue,” Berman says.

Meringues and macarons in hand, Berman made her way to farmers markets when they started opening back up. Berman has a master’s degree in food systems, so being involved with the local food scene was a move Berman felt was important.

“Being centered in the community and the local foods movement was a really important aspect to me,” she says. Now, her treats are in City Market and Healthy Living, among other places, where her fans clear the shelves. Berman turns out somewhere near 1,000 macarons a week.

“I would say that I’ve developed over 300 flavors at this point in time,” she laughs, explaining that she’s pared down the daily selection quite a bit. A member of the Vermont Fresh Network, her flavors come from what’s in season and local.

“I bring in seasonal flavors, so right now we have Mother’s Day flavors that I’m playing around with… it’s our Bloom Collection. Floral undertones in the macarons, they’re sort of unique, unexpected flavors,” she says.

Be it cherry blossom macarons or vanilla bean meringues, these goodies bring smiles wherever they are.

“Seeing that joy that I’m putting out there in the world, like nothing beats that feeling,” says Berman.

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