Chicago's Hidden Gems: Glencoe baker turns bread into amazing art
GLENCOE, Ill. (CBS) – You'll never guess what's coming up in the kitchen in north suburban Glencoe.
CBS 2's Joe Donlon rolled up his sleeves and met a baker who fashioned food into art. She's one of Chicago's Hidden Gems.
Pretty purses, fancy footwear, cartoon characters, and more. They're all very artistic and all made of bread.
Yes, bread.
"I started making this for friends and family and everybody said, 'You should sell this,'" said Anya Viner.
Viner, a Glencoe resident, is the owner and founder of Tigertail Bakery, which was named for the street where she grew up loving baking and art.
Donlon: "Are you a baker? Are you an artist? What are you?"
Viner: "I like to think baker-turned-artist."
She specializes in creations made of challah, a bread of Jewish origin that's commonly shared at ceremonial occasions, though her work is anything but common.
"I need to roll my sleeves up, I guess," Donlon said.
Something else that's not too common is Donlon in the kitchen. He asked how Viner does it. She told him to roll up his sleeves and find out.
The task on this day was to create an emoji of a guy wearing sunglasses.
"Cut your dough in two pieces," Viner instructed.
Donlon: "Do I have the right end of this cutter?"
Viner: "I'd use the other side, but that will work too."
Donlon: "This is not off to a good start. How'd I do?"
Viner: "That looks good."
Viner taught Donlon all the steps from the all-important "braiding."
"The right one goes over the middle, then the left one goes over the middle," she said.
"I've never braided my hair or my daughter's hair," Donlon said.
She also taught him how to get the bread on the sheet pan and into the oven.
"Now I'm seeing where I messed up earlier," Donlon said.
While the bread was baking, CBS 2 learned more about Viner. While she's a Los Angeles native, she came to Chicago to attend Northwestern University and its Kellogg School of Management.
After high-level business jobs and three kids, she decided to get busy baking, something she really loves.
"My math-minded husband likes to tell me how many I've made," Viner said. "I think I've done over 3,000."
After posts on Instagram, Tigertail took off with requests for events, classes, and even corporate team-building events. Everything is custom by request.
Donlon: "What's the strangest request you've had?"
Viner: "There's one they wanted for a bridal shower and I said, 'Thank you, but I will not do that.' I try to keep it clean."
So how did the baking turn into art?
"Earlier this year, a gallery in New York saw what I do on Instagram and they asked if I would be in their show," Viner said. "How do I hang a loaf of bread on a wall? So I started preserving it and coating it in a resin and working with a conservator. So this has been a work in progress."
It took a lot of hard work and a lot of flour.
"I buy five-pound bags, but I'll buy 10 of them and people look at me," she said.
Back in the kitchen, Viner and Donlon were ready to decorate.
Viner: "I have tons of candy. My kids are excited because they'll get to eat what we don't use."
Donlon: "This looks nothing like sunglasses."
Viner: "So smoosh it out with your fingers. It's OK."
But Viner's was perfect. Mission accomplished.
Donlon: "One thing we did well, we made a mess."
Viner: "Good?"
Donlon: "Delicious!"
Be kind judging Donlon's final product. After all, it was his first try.
Check out Tigertail on Instagram to see more of Viner's incredible designs.
