The smell of pastries drifts through the Streets of St. Charles, warmth and kindness radiating from a small bakery. Aaron and Agi Groff, a married couple, met in culinary school and now own the successful Sucrose, which welcomes and delights many with its homemade goods and amiable environment.
“We were working in the restaurant industry as cooks and chefs, and we both decided that we were putting in a lot of work and a lot of hours for somebody else,” Aaron said. “So we decided we were going to work that hard for our own business.”
One aspect that sets Sucrose apart from the rest is the Groffs’ dedication and philosophy to making everything from scratch and trying to find locally sourced ingredients to keep the vision alive and their authenticity thriving.
“We make everything from scratch, so you have control over what goes in it, whereas, if you use fillings that come out of a bucket, you’re limited,” Agi said. “But my biggest thing is, whenever we buy things, we buy things that don’t have food color in it or have a bunch of preservatives.”
Agi and Aaron also supply fresh-grown ingredients, allowing them to incorporate seasonal elements within their food, adding to their unique quality.
“We have a garden, and right now, we are growing rhubarb straw,” Agi said. “I just noticed it popping up, so we’ll make strawberry rhubarb, and then we have a lot of peppers and tomatoes in the summer, so we will make tomato galettes and quiche fillings.”
Perfecting pastries requires technical skill, and few are as demanding as croissants. They require layers of butter between thin sheets of dough, each fold and rest contributing to the final flaky texture that leaves customers wanting more. Aaron takes pride in the process, believing their croissants stand out from any in the region.
“I think our croissants are the star,” said Aaron. “I don’t think anyone in the region is doing croissants like we do, the amount of layers and the look and the flavor combinations that we have. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find that anywhere else.”
The evolution from the beginning of their career to now has been one with bumps and bruises, setbacks and failures, but they continue to work hard until they have mastered the desired techniques and turned a weakness into a strength.
“I enjoy making caramel and mousse because I failed miserably at it in school because I kept burning it and now it’s the easiest thing for me to do,” said Agi. “It’s gratifying because today, I made the biggest batch of mousse and it’s the greatest accomplishment.”
Throughout their time spent in St. Charles, they have perfected their recipes using a blend of their creativity and roots and the knowledge gained from culinary school.
“It’s a mix, some are family recipes, some are from school,” Agi said. “You have the foundation recipe, but then you change it. For example, you have a cookie base, but then you come up with a different filling, so it’s a combination, and then you create your item.”
Through years of hard work and passion, the Groffs have built a bakery highlighting the importance of tradition, one hand-crafted pastry at a time, and sharing their love and passion with the community. Keep up to date with Sucrose with their social media.
“We’ve been in the area for maybe 20 years. We started at this farmers market. Aggie and I still see people that we know and customers from when we first started. And then pastry-wise, I mean, everything is from scratch with a little bit of European flair that you don’t find everywhere else in American bakeries.”
