A Paducah, Kentucky kid who went from making bolts for toilets in his hometown to one of the finest pastry chefs in the country: John Kraus is celebrating more than 15 years of his Minneapolis bakery, Patisserie 46. He joins Jason to talk about why he moved to Minneapolis, the challenges of navigating COVID, George Floyd, civil unrest, and an immigration surge. Patisserie 46 in South Minneapolis to rave reviews in July 2010, and this first location continues to be a Twin Cities favorite. That year, John was named a “Top Ten Chocolatier” by Pastry Arts Magazine, along with Joshua Werner, who had joined his team.
In 2014 Kraus was selected as team U.S.A.’s captain at the 2015 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie and took the 2015 bronze medal at the famed Olympics of pastry competitions. That same year, John was inducted as a member of Relais Desserts Group, the only American-born chef to be ever invited to join this prestigious group of the world’s top 100 pastry chefs.
In 2016, John opened the first Rose Street Patisserie, named for the first sugar flower he ever made, is his mother’s middle name, and not coincidentally, Rose is the last name of his wife and business partner Elizabeth.
In 2026 John and Elizabeth announced plans to move The Bread Lab into a new facility in Lilydale, Minnesota.
