Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Herman.
Hi Sean, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve worked in many different kitchen environments during my time, but pastry was definitely the most alluring to me.
My father almost always had a garden when I was growing up (despite moving around a lot), and I would help plant and take care of it. There’s something magical about tending to the soil which feeds us. Cooking at home during my youth was very simple, mostly just for sustenance. But as I lived on my own, it began to feel more like a form of meditation. It became a practice which I relied upon to calm my nerves as well as to express love for myself + others.
After college, I moved back to my hometown and got my first job at a fine dining restaurant, which felt like an environment where I could be more creative with my cooking. I took on the pastry program in addition to my line cook duties. We would source some of our ingredients from Riehm Produce Farm just nine miles away, and I would volunteer to pick up the produce order each week. That was really eye-opening for me to get to know the farmer (+ family) who grew the vegetables we were serving at the restaurant. Phil would show me what he was up to on the farm and what was going to be happening as the seasons changed.
I’ve lived in the Cleveland metro area for five years now. We have a pretty good food scene here, but until recently, pastry + desserts did not receive much of the spotlight. It seemed more like an afterthought to most restaurants and often still does. I moved here to work at Restaurant Trentina in 2018, which closed in January of 2019. Anticipating the closing, I started working at On the Rise bakery with hopes of joining their baking staff. Unfortunately, I had a bicycle accident just five months into that job, which kept me out of work for about eight weeks without use of my right hand. That may have been the most difficult eight weeks of my life because it left me unable to work and completely dependent upon others, which I was not used to at all. I had to have surgery and also do six months of occupational therapy in order to relearn how to use my hand again. I’ll just say I’m thankful for modern medicine and an incredibly supportive partner.
In December 2019 & February 2020, I hosted two private pop-up dinners (8 courses + 8 seats) and invited friends to join me for the launch of my first solo concept known as “Commune.” But because of the pandemic I decided to put that on pause and shift gears. In 2020 I started consulting for a local cafe, developing recipes, sourcing from local farms, and managing a small team. I left that job in order to start Li’l BoÎte Pâtisserie in April of 2021. I had my first pop-up at Edwin’s Too in Shaker Square in August of 2021 and did ten pop-ups in five months via online pre-orders.
When I moved to Coventry in 2021, having a designated room to bake out of was a priority. My primary work/prep space was a converted office (115 sq. ft.) until summer 2023. This year, my partner and I moved into a single-family home, which now houses the bakery as well as my partner’s voice studio, and our three cats.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve overcome a lot of adversity, from my hand injury and, of course, maintaining employment during the pandemic to not owning a car. I’ve mentioned a few of these already. But the biggest hurdle is my probably my own perception of where I think I “should be” vs. where I actually am in terms of this growth project most people would call a career (or life in general). It can be easy to self-critique or to compare ourselves to others, but usually the people we compare ourselves to have been doing their thing for much longer, giving us this perception of “being ahead” when really they just had their struggles earlier on, and I am only noticing them after they overcame those challenges. It’s likely they still have other challenges I am completely unaware of as an outsider. I believe everyone really is just “faking it ’til they make it.” I try to remind myself of this often. We just have to do the best we can with what we have at any given moment. At the end of the day that is what matters most.
We’ve been impressed with Li’l Boîte Pâtisserie, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Li’l Boîte Pâtisserie (lih·ehl bwat pa·tis·se·rie) is an independently owned and operated cottage bakery located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I am the owner & pastry chef. Founded in August 2021, the bakery’s name is a combination of the English slang term for “little” and the French word “boîte,” which means “box.” My partner Lauren (who studied French in college) thought of it. I think it’s a cute name, and it’s also really fitting. I started Li’l Boîte as a monthly pop-up concept out of Shaker Square. My pastry boxes (“Boîte Assortie”) are a curated assortment of pastries meant to serve a small number of people for special occasions or as a treat. Each assorted box features a variety of tastes, textures, & culinary techniques. These boxes are where the business name originated. Now I also sell vend at artist markets, and I accept special order requests for private events via a submission form on my website (https://lilboite.com).
The bakery’s mission is to foster community with intention, and this is demonstrated through its brand values of curiosity, authenticity, transparency, and sustainability.
As a business owner, I follow a practice of environmental harm reduction. This impacts every aspect of the business and is especially true for sourcing ingredients. Social and environmental sustainability are important to the bakery and its customers. By being transparent in its sourcing practices, Li’l Boîte Pâtisserie assures customers that their money is well spent. All of my products are handcrafted from scratch using local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible (featuring produce, dairy & organic grains within a two-hour radius of the bakery). I specialize in French pastry, including viennoiserie, gâteaux pâtisserie, & confectionery, with a focus on layered flavors and varied textures. And recently I have begun to offer more vegan pastries as well.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I feel it’s important to be open-minded and to try new things. I often ask myself, “Can this be done in a better way?” I think this is what drives my creativity and willingness to grow as an artist and business owner: to realize that much of the world is out of our control. The world can be cruel, but it is up to us to do what we can to understand it, and to make our slice of it a little bit better for others as well as for ourselves. For me, this displays as curiosity and honesty. It’s good to realize what you don’t know well, and either learn it or outsource it to someone who does. I’m a terrible liar, but I enjoy teaching and sharing what I do know with others. My customers are really receptive to this, and I try to give credit where credit is due. I only use the best products, so I make sure to share the names of the farmers and makers I buy from (I have a whole page of my website dedicated to this). I love to be able to share gems with my community, especially when those gems are food.
Pricing:
- Boîte Assortie – monthly pre-order box ($32)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lilboite.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.
com/lil_boite - Facebook: https://facebook.
com/lilboite
Image Credits
Personal photo is by Lindsay Carr (June 2023).
Sean Herman
