From battling addiction to being a celebrated pastry chef and king cake baker, Martha Gilreath’s story has been well-documented, and that inspirational story is set to add another chapter with the upcoming opening of Nolita, her first brick-and-mortar bakery, near Bayou St. John.
Gilreath told What Now New Orleans that she had left a previous job in May and opening up the Nolita bakery, scheduled to happen by the end of 2023, largely came down to serendipity.
“I feel like the universe really just lined everything right up,” she said. “The space became available to me and I didn’t even know it was on the market! I’ve spent a long time working for other people, and I think I was ready to create the space that I would want to be in.”
Naturally, Nolita will be serving up king cakes. Gilreath says her cakes closely follow the classic version from McKenzie’s, and sticking to tradition is what makes them so special. The bakery will also be focused on making other classic items like blueberry muffins, banana bread, and croissants.
“In this day and age, there are so many people that do really crazy things really well. So we’re going to dial it back to the classics,” she said. “We’re going to do some fun things and savory pastries as well. Because I’m actually more of a savory person and ironically not so much of a sweets person!”
To hear that a celebrated king cake baker prefers savor cooking is a bit of a revelation. But considering all the battles Gilreath has gone through, it actually makes a lot of sense.
“You know the pastry side is the exact opposite of the savory side. It’s so disciplined and I think that speaks to me now,” she said with a laugh.
