Elise Mensing
Photos provided by Elise Mensing
5(ish) Questions for is a chance to discover and learn about St. Louis Creatives, Community Champions, and, well, just interesting people in and around our city. It's a deep dive into what they love and where their passion lies. It's an opportunity for all of us to see our region from a different perspective. This written interview is a peek into their lives and their outlook on St. Louis.
Hi, Elise! Tell us a little about yourself.
I have been the pastry chef for Brasserie by Niche for the past thirteen years. I enjoy the mix of recreating classic French desserts and coming up with new interpretations of these classics.
How did you get started?
After college, and a Bachelors Degree in Art History, I found myself at a crossroads. For about four years I worked in an office, doing clerical work, and madly researching my next step. I knew I needed to find myself in an active creative field, a world where what I was producing brought joy and inspiration to myself as well as those around me. I decided on cooking school. This took me to Boulder Colorado, then France, then eventually back to St. Louis, and a little restaurant called Niche.
What are some unique or innovative approaches you take?
What has always attracted me to cooking, more specifically pastry, is what a multi-sensory experience it is. We see something beautiful, we inhale its delightful aromas, we taste its flavors, and feel its different textures. Whenever I create a new dessert I have to keep all of this in mind. I don’t know if this is unique, I’m sure a lot of chefs work this way. Another thing that I love about food is the stories it can tell. This will sound really sappy, but I think the culinary arts, are truly an art, and probably one of the more all-encompassing ones. We all need food to survive, yes, but beyond that it nourishes the soul . And getting that right, seeing a person’s face light up when they taste something you’ve made, is pretty great.
What is great about St. Louis and the Culinary Arts scene in STL?
I was born and raised in St. Louis, but always thought eventually I would move away. My parents were midwesterners, but not from St. Louis, they both had travelled when they could, and from a young age they instilled that love of travel in me. But life went on its zigzagging path and I’ve found myself here for the long haul. There are a lot of great qualities about this city for creative people. I think that small town, in a big city feel has the ability to nurture lots of different view points, and support all of these communities. The culinary arts scene I think has just exploded here in the last 15 years. Chefs like Gerard Craft have been able to get their ideas out there, because we are still an affordable city. What I’m excited to see more of is the diversity of our population shine, because even though we are in the middle of the country, there are so many cultures, and unique, creative individuals that can inject new world views and flavors in to this little town.
What do you do in your spare time? (I hear you are a visual artist as well; we'd love to hear more)
During the shutdown I reignited my love of drawing, painting, and collaging. Right now I’m still just exploring everything. Figuring out what medium I love using the most, trying to keep a daily or at least weekly practice of drawing in a sketchbook. One fun way of doing that has been combining my cooking life with my visual art life. I have been snapping photos of scenes from work and drawing them. I especially love drawing, and championing all of my coworkers. I have been trying to post a lot of my work on an art instagram account. It’s a good way to keep up the practice and also fun and encouraging to get feedback. I have a lot of little idea nuggets for continuing to combine these two worlds.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Breakfast in bed. I have never been a morning person, luckily I chose a pastry job that keeps me working late at night! But yes, a good cup of coffee, and gradual start to my day have always been something I relish.
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