Killer Qouign

Creative flavor combos reign in Santana Rodriguez’s chocolates and pastries

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK C. ANDERSON

There are layers to the name Qouign (pronounced “queen”), much like there are layers to its flavors.

On one hand, it’s a nod to the uncommon laminated cake known as kouign or kouign-amann, what Qouign creator Santana Rodriguez calls, “the most flaky, buttery, decadent, pastry pastry there is.”

“Not a lot of people know it and it’s fun to explain, which fits into my vision of what I want the company to be,” says Rodriguez, a native of Soledad. “We’re going to research any and all desserts, chocolates and flavors, to learn as much as we can and put that knowledge out there as much as possible.” Qouign also refers to Rodriguez’s claim to the dessert throne.

“Maybe it’s because I’m a small, bubbly woman in a male-driven industry, but it was hard to prove to people that I belong here and I’m serious about my career,” she says. “I also want to tell those who are going to join me, ‘We’re going to build you, you queens, into someone to be taken seriously.’”

Rodriquez started her small-batch artisanal chocolate and pastry company three years ago, and sells mostly at the Salinas Farmers Market, but also online and by direct order.

“Chocolate embodies what I want to do,” she says. “Emphasizing where it comes from, its history, its beauty, all it can be, in all its intricate aspects—it’s not just a pretty thing to look at, but super versatile and super delicious.”

Intentions and branding, however, count little if the product isn’t popping. Fortunately, Rodriguez crafts flavor grenades that blow mouth and mind.

At the Big Sur Food & Wine Festival last year—amid a fury of enterprising chefs and sparkly stimuli—Rodriguez’s chocolates stood out, particularly truffles such as amaretto and almond; candy cap mushroom and rum; and caramelized white chocolate and honey.

“People tend to play it safe with chocolates,” she said after the 2022 event. “I like to take eccentric flavors and introduce people to what they wouldn’t normally taste.”

The BSFW truffles proved so popular 1) a festival-goer started stuffing truffles in her purse; and 2) Rodriguez exported some flavor combos to her weekly farmers market appearance in Salinas (9am−2pm Saturdays), where she also sells baked goods like heirloom purple corn cookies, croissants with cream-cheese frosting and her mom’s favorite, a hazelnut honey pie with a drizzle of caramel and dark chocolate.

Her path to entrepreneurship included some notable kitchens in the confection world, locally and beyond.

After starting at Spanish Bay, she worked with pastry savants Ben Spungin and Cal Stamenov at Bernardus Lodge (and, later, Alta Bakery), Ron Mendoza at Ad Astra Bread Co., Bert Cutino at The Sardine Factory, Bouchon (one of chef Thomas Keller’s restaurants in Napa Valley) and Antonio Bachour in New York City.

Stamenov flags some Rodriguez qualities that aid her game. “Her positive attitude is number one,” he says. “She has a lot of energy, and has always shown a lot of growth, and a willingness to take chances.”

“As a baker, I’ve already messed up everything every single way, so I know there’s always a way to come back from it.”

One such chance was launching her business mid-pandemic, with characteristic fearlessness. “As a baker, I’ve already messed up everything every single way, so I know there’s always a way to come back from it,” she says. “If I get lost, it’s just a detour.” Spungin sees that. “Resilient is a great word for her,” he says. “She won’t stop.”

Another good word for Rodriguez: grateful.

“Luck is my best friend,” she says. “I know success doesn’t come easy for a lot of people, but I feel like as long as I know it’s something I want to do, and my heart is in the right place, nothing can go wrong.”

At her shared commissary kitchen in Moss Landing, Rodriguez works on seasonal experiments like a bourbon-peach-brown sugarpecan truffle. She wows with harmonies of textures and taste like hazelnut-butter gianduja, a dark chocolate-cherry, a Caribbeanstyle Guanaja 70% chocolate and a bourbon number that evokes a smoky Manhattan.

Selective sourcing helps: Rodriguez procures products from Valrhona chocolate, King Arthur Baking Co. flour, Amen Bee honey and fellow farmers market vendors in order to prioritize direct relationships and sustainability.

Technique is also key. In her kitchen, Rodriguez combines science, art and appetite. She monitors proper sugar crystal temperatures while “spray painting” colorful cocoa butter flourishes.

She does that while meditating on a recent Bourbon Trail trip to Kentucky and ways to involve prospective partner Maker’s Mark in her alchemy.

“There’s a true reason to pay attention to the process,” she says. “It’s not, ‘We got lucky this time.’”

Anna Marie Bayonito, chef de cuisine at Sticks in Pebble Beach, is one of Rodriguez’s earliest mentors. She noticed right away how the Padawan leapt to learn new skills and kitchen stations.

“She had the grit and was always willing to learn and do all the dirty things,” Bayonito says. “I knew then that this kid was special.”

When an opportunity to focus on pastry emerged, Rodriguez was sheepish about moving on. Bayonito wouldn’t hear it.

“I told her, ‘You have to follow your dreams,’” says Bayonito. “I’m so proud of her for doing just that, and it’s so amazing to watch her progress. Santana loves to do what she loves to do.”

When told of Bayonito’s endorsement, Rodriguez sounds shy and emboldened at the same time. “I’ve always been curious,” she says. “I’m very, ‘How high can I go up this tree?’ and ‘I’ll fall off to find out.’

“It doesn’t sit well in my brain if I don’t figure out how something works or what would happen if I try. So I will.”

Salinas Farmers Market
Saturdays 9am−2pm
qouign.com