Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Listrom
Hi Sarah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The daughter/granddaughter of mathematicians and engineers my brain have always been wired for math and science. However. Art has also always been a passion of mine. After getting my degree in graphic design, I knew I didn’t want to be stuck behind a computer. With ZERO experience baking anything from scratch, I decided to go to culinary school for pastry in an attempt to please both the mathematical and creative parts of my brain and my overall passion for people and hospitality.
While in culinary school I interned at a Mayfield Bakery, part of a Michelin-starred restaurant group in the Bay Area. I then moved to San Francisco to work at Tyler Florence’s Wayfare Tavern and then 2 Michelin-starred Saison, the 69th best restaurant in the world at the time. In 2014 I moved to Austin for a Pastry Lead position at Uchiko and in 2015 I was the opening Pastry Chef at Counter 357. This concept was chef’s counter tasting menu with no servers which gave me extensive Front of house experience and my level 1 Sommelier certification. 2017 became the Pastry Chef at Barley Swine and in 2019 the Executive Pastry Chef at ARRIVE hotel with concepts Vixen’s Wedding, Lefty’s and Gin Bar.
Then 2020 hit. In January Matthew Odam called me one of the best pastry chefs in the city and by July I was unemployed due to an industry that was holding on by a thread. Immediately I received messages on Instagram from regulars asking for cakes. I then started doing bake sales, pop-ups and picking up independent work and was able to piece together a self employed business.
In 2021 my husband and I moved to Georgetown and started our family with the birth of my first son. Though being a Pastry Chef became a side hustle to being a stay-at-home-mom, it was definitely still a FULL TIME hustle during the Spring and Holidays.
I knew being a mom would change my life, but what I didn’t expect was that it would change my ethos to my craft. I wanted to feed my son foods that were good for him and my eyes were opened to ways our food systems in the US have been over processes filling our foods with toxins and striping it of nutrients. Just look at the ingredients of US made baby formulas and you will be horrified. There is no question why we as a society are SO much more unhealthy today then we were a century ago.
I struggled with the desire to make food that I would want to feed my family free seed oils, food dyes, glyphosates, etc. and the reality that clean ingredients cost more and not knowing if my clientele would be willing to pay for the quality. And I’m not talking sugar-free or gluten-free, I’m talking real, organic, raw, unprocessed ingredients.
At the end of the day I decided that I didn’t feel right continuing in this profession any other way. Now I create food that is as REAL as possible. Organic flour. Raw organic sugar. Organic A2 milk. Pasture-raised local eggs. As clean, pure and close to nature as I can source.
Your cheat day shouldn’t shouldn’t wreck your body. And if you are going to have a pastry, it should be worth every single delicious bite.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My story in the previous question wasn’t brief… but it walked through the major struggles in my journey.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Rifle & Pony comes from a Dean Martin song “My Rifle, my Pony and me” from the western Rio Bravo. Sung by an Italian singer in a western movie connects to my Italian roots and living in the South. And the song is about being content with the simple life which I feel matches where I’m at with my food; no more fancy tricks and gimmicks of fine dining but just simple and delicious.
Currently Rifle & Pony is a limited, custom order business with the occasional pop-up, pairing or events. Though one day I would love to see Rifle & Pony as an all-day cafe (coffee roaster to wine bar and all the food in-between), I very much appreciate this season of life while my children are so young and impressionable. These years have made my recipes stronger and my scope wider.
Outside of my business, much of my family life revolves around food as well. We grow what we can in our garden. My husband hunts venison and I enjoy butchering and preserving the meat. We attempt to make as much from scratch as possible from bread, tortillas, animal crackers, pasta, vinegars, tinctures, etc. which I treasure teaching my son. Though my business may be part time, my R&D and training is baked into who I am as a mom.
One unique thing I do with food that doesn’t get eaten is gingerbread houses for charity. Friends of the Children ATX holds an annual auction for beautiful custom gingerbread houses. I have done 7 houses over the past 4 years that take 20-40hr each over 1-2 months and the winners end up keeping to display year after year. They can be seen on my website.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My mother passed away when I was 4 months old and I can’t think of a larger influence in my life than that. It’s why I felt strong to follow my passions rather than money. It’s why I love food because I love bring joy because I know life can be short. And it’s why I know how important it is to spend time with my children because family is more important than anything.
With that my son has changed my who view of food and life and I can’t wait to see what I learn from the next son.
As far as chefs, I have been so lucky to work with so many chefs that didn’t just teach me about food but about being a genuine human being in an industry that can pull another direction. Nancy Pitta. Josh Grunig. Matt Masera. Shawn Gawle. Johnny Ortiz. Damien Brockway. Sterling Riding. Greg Zanotti.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rifleandpony.com
- Instagram: @sarahpea26 @rifleandpony @rifleandpony_custom
Image Credits
Headshot AND Making cookies w/ son: Whitney Hazelmyer
All other photos: Sarah Listrom
