For some, stress brings out the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s certainly the case for Lutunji Abram. And her best is propelling her to become one of the top names in the gourmet dessert industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abram, owner of Lutunji\u2019s Palate, 930 Hennepin Ave., downtown Minneapolis, endured a pretty rough patch in life, but now everything seems to be peachy \u2026 peach cobbler to be exact. That\u2019s the dessert that put Abram on the foodie map and the one that has brought her from depressed job seeker to enthusiastic entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abram said her cobbler, Harriet\u2019s Escape, which is quickly becoming the talk of the town, was birthed at her home kitchen during a period of job transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, I wasn\u2019t admitting to myself that I was depressed, but I\u2019d be at home making all these different peach cobblers and after, a few close friends said you can sell these,\u201d said Abram. \u201cThis was never a dream of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Harriet\u2019s Escape tastes divine, Abram said it\u2019s because it was divinely inspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGod spoke to me. I heard God say, \u2018I want you to make a coconut oil crust,\u2019\u201d said Abram, who said that unique crust is a key reason her cobblers stand apart from the rest. \u201cThis is God-driven. I\u2019m walking forward with no fear and excited about every step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When talking about Abram\u2019s peach cobblers the \u201cs\u201d is needed because she currently has two versions \u2013 a \u201cbuttery, buttery\u201d and a vegan. She also makes a pecan cobbler and a coconut cake bite that is both plant-based and gluten free. In addition, Lutunji\u2019s Palate sells an \u201cold fashioned\u201d macaroon that is plant based, but not gluten free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor all my desserts I use high-end ingredients,\u201d proudly said Abram. \u201cI found a certain flour with this perfect blend that doesn\u2019t have an aftertaste or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abram\u2019s rise has been somewhat meteoric. She got her start this past summer at the Whittier Farmer\u2019s Market in Minneapolis, but the humble baker said it was an appearance on the podcast \u201cKeeping Up with Coco and Lala,\u201d a Facebook cooking show celebrating the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle, that propelled her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat brought me a lot of attention \u2026 you hear me, a lot<\/em> of attention,\u201d said Abram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abram\u2019s first time on camera with Coco Laud and YaLonda \u201cLala\u201d Lolar Johnson doesn\u2019t seem like it will be her last. The baker of sweet treats says she\u2019s been approached by other television producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are some offers out there,\u201d said Abram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, Abram said she\u2019s working on her next big thing, a fully plant based sweet potato pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was my mother\u2019s idea, so I\u2019ve been working on it and I tell you, it\u2019s really good,\u201d said Abram, with an unmistakable joy in her voice. \u201cI\u2019m having so much fun with this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to her downtown Minneapolis location, Lutunji\u2019s Palate treats can be found at North Market in Minneapolis, Cajun Twist at the Trailhead (Theodore Wirth Park), Pimento Jamaican Kitchen in the Eat Street neighborhood of Minneapolis and Trio Plant Based in Uptown. Abram said she\u2019s also in negotiations with a major supermarket chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAgain, I could have had a pity party for myself, but I found my niche and kept on moving,\u201d said Abram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For some, stress brings out the best. That\u2019s certainly the case for Lutunji Abram. And her best is propelling her to become one of the top names in the gourmet dessert industry. Abram, owner of Lutunji\u2019s Palate, 930 Hennepin Ave., downtown Minneapolis, endured a pretty rough patch in life, but now everything seems to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2415,2416,2414],"class_list":["post-3534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-harriets-escape","tag-lutunji-abram","tag-lutunjis-palate","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3535,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534\/revisions\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}