Mise en Place: What nurtures the nurturer, with Ashley Bare of Hemma Hemma
Ashley Bare at Hemma Hemma // Photo by Anna Petrow
Hemma Hemma may be new to Waldo, but Kansas City is no stranger to Chef/Owner Ashley Bare’s cooking. Hemma Hemma focuses on wholesome foods–to savor in-house and on the go–but we wanted to find out what keeps Bare herself feeling whole and satisfied.
The Pitch: Tell us about Hemma Hemma’s origin.
Ashley Bare: I have a strong private chef background. After culinary school I worked in restaurants for a hot minute. But I realized that it wasn’t financially viable for me, living in New York City, so I got into private cheffing. I worked in a lot of people’s homes. And not that my childhood wasn’t great, but the notion of home has always been kind of something I’ve thought about. Hemma means ‘at home’ in Swedish, and it has stuck with me. Just the notion of home, being in people’s homes, delivering to people’s homes–I want this place to feel like home to someone.
How are you cultivating a feeling of home here?
I didn’t want it to feel like a sterile, corporate situation; I needed it to feel cozy, elevated, interesting, collected if you will.
But then also our food: our dishes are chef-driven, and may use some ingredients that you haven’t heard of, but they should be presented in a way that is familiar and a bit homestyle. I don’t like to say our food is healthy. It’s healthful, like very vegetable-forward, but approachable in a way that people will recognize.
What is the difference between healthy and nurturing?
I hate the word healthy. Because what does that mean? It’s so different for everyone. I think we should be eating nourishing foods that are whole, that are probably not processed, from scratch.
How will that translate to the pastry counter?
Those aren’t considered traditionally healthy whatsoever, but we’re using real, high-quality butter. We’re using flour from local miller, Marion Milling. And then fresh fruits and quality chocolate. If you’re eating a pastry, you don’t want it to be deit-ized.
I just advocate for good ingredients. And by that I mean that they won’t hold over for a few days–we have to make them in-house daily.
Our pastries should feel hearty–not dainty little French pastries. Maybe it reminds you of this notion of home–they should be comforting. That’s beautiful. And we need that sometimes.
From whom or what do you draw inspiration?
Travel is huge–I cook the globe. I’ve been to like 42 countries and the world is such a huge inspiration for me. But on that note, I just love variety. I want to eat differently every day, so that’s what we’re doing here. Some might think it’s a lot to take on, but truthfully, it’s kind of easy because it’s innate.
What aspect of establishing this brick-and-mortar spot has stretched your creativity the most?
Well, interiors is a big interest of mine also. It’s been really fun and I hope that people feel that when they come in because I really love looking around here.
You have an impressive team of women helping you. Can you speak on that?
I love women. I’m all about lifting up and empowering women wherever possible. And I’ve encountered other business owners who are not doing that. It really bothers me. The better you do, the better I do. But like, women are just fucking great.
It’s a philosophical thing, historical thing, but there’s so much asked of women and not of men and this is why I’m constantly impressed by women. Most of us are holding down full-time jobs while also responsible for most of the things in the home. We deserve more credit.
What are your go-tos for self-care?
I try to work out twice a week. I get massages here and there. And this sounds dumb, but my nail time is religious. It just makes me feel like a put-together human. Plus it is a nice little alone moment. But truly, we spend a lot of time with our families and we get together with our friends every at least two weeks. We all love each other a lot. So they really fill up our cups.
Hemma Hemma is located at 7122 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64114.
