It’s a match made in dessert heaven, with beloved Connecticut baker Naima Craft partnering with the award-winning West Hartford restaurant Le Mazet to offer her signature pastries and desserts.

By Melissa Cole

Whether it’s a croissant, muffin, or scone, once you’ve tried one of Naima Craft’s baked goods, it’s hard not to come back for seconds. Just ask the folks in town who helped her at-home bakery business take off during the early days of the pandemic.

“West Hartford residents were the predominant support base for me. They were ordering everything! Bagels, danishes, cookies, bread. They were ordering anything and everything and couldn’t get enough.”

The love of baking started early for this Bloomfield resident who grew up on the island of Trinidad.

“I can think back to baking when my grandmother gave me my first hand mixer, you know the old school hand mixers. I think mine was tan, and really loud!”

As a teenager, she baked cakes for her mother’s coworkers, and had quite a few repeat customers.

“They were Betty Crocker and I would make the cake and slice it up and bag it up. I’d take it to the office and I didn’t realize that people were into it. They wanted their 1 p.m. post-lunch fix. That in itself gave me the opportunity to learn a little entrepreneurship then.”

But baking would take a pause as she headed to college to pursue another passion. Craft attended the University of Hartford, where she earned her doctorate in physical therapy.

“It was a phase of my life where I got the opportunity to enhance people’s lives. Literally see people come in with a significant impairment, and walk out feeling a lot better. Their lives were changed within that short span of time, and that was incredibly rewarding.”

And while she loved this career, especially helping people feel better, in 2019 she decided to pivot and lean into her other passion. She got her cottage bakery license and started making all kinds of goodies in her kitchen. Then, COVID hit. With everyone at home, word quickly spread about a local baker delivering fresh treats; demand surged, and within a year her business had quadrupled.

“I was exhausted. I remember watching episodes of I love Lucy while I was rolling dough and making zucchini bread and English muffins and all the things. I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for the support of the West Hartford base, the West Hartford Chamber and residents, I don’t think my trajectory would have been as steep in terms of positive growth.”

Next, Craft swallowed her fear and opened a brick-and-mortar bakery, aptly named The Craft, in East Granby. The bakery was hugely successful for five years, drawing customers from across Connecticut and Massachusetts who came regularly to stock up on their favorite treats.

But owning your own business comes with its challenges like finding dedicated staff, working nonstop, and sacrificing precious family time. Many nights, Craft would arrive at the bakery at 9 p.m. to begin baking and wouldn’t return home until 2 p.m. the following day. That pace simply wasn’t sustainable.

So recently, Craft made the difficult decision to close the bakery. But as a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens, that next door led her straight into Le Mazet – a restaurant serving French comfort food and craft cocktails in the heart of West Hartford Center.

“I’m partnering with Le Mazet to level up their dessert and baked good offerings. We’re also working together on letting the public know, the corporate public, that we are ready to bring a high quality catering experience.”

Partnering with Le Mazet is a whole new experience for Craft, working alongside other professionals in a restaurant setting. While customers can still enjoy favorites from the bakery, like the morning muffin and her wildly popular chocolate croissants, she’s able to get creative with new dishes and seasonal offerings.

Just before this interview she and Le Mazet owner Jared Cohen were brainstorming a prosciutto-and-goat-cheese quiche. She’s also mastering French macarons; today’s flavor was vanilla bean. Macarons are naturally gluten free, and she also plans on making her signature gluten-free zucchini bread regularly too.

“The nice thing about Le Mazet is that they are offering greater menu options that I couldn’t even envision doing at the bakery. I say, listen, I want to pair this pastry with this filling, and they say, let’s go! And it’s just heaven in your mouth.”

She also hopes to be an asset in expanding the catering side of the business, having already provided catering services for aviation companies. Whether it’s a family party, wedding, or corporate event, the team is ready to help the community celebrate.

“We want to let people know, Le Mazet is a great place to bring your family and have a great dine experience, but hey, we can bring that experience to you as well. “

Marrying delicious food with delicious desserts, Craft couldn’t be more enthusiastic about this new opportunity and she also couldn’t hide the giant smile while showing off the new menus.

“I am just excited to see what I get to do, what I get to offer the public, and that scratches my itch.  I’ll show you one of the menus. My name is on there, and I get to say what you’re going to enjoy this week.”

Success for this baker may have looked different over the years, but she’s constantly aiming to be the best version of herself; consistently expanding, and experiencing life in better ways. Her advice? Realize that there will be bumps along the way. And that’s just fine. Discomfort and change are just part of the process.

“I always tell people when they’re going through a hard time, just celebrate and get excited. And they’re like, what’s wrong with you? How can you tell me to get excited? This is the worst phase of my life. And I say, you know why? Because you’re about to level up. You’re about to expand into a better version of yourself. You should get excited.”

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