I cannot wait to start snacking with our first guest today because
it's going to feel like the best part of my childhood.
It's Little J Cafe and Bakery.
This new spot is the brainchild of the owners of
Lady J Smokehouse and butcher shop in West Seattle.
And chef Charlie joins me now
and I am so excited. I did not eat breakfast
this morning. So, and this is already smelling delicious.
What are we making? Because I just want to hear you say it
ruffles rice crispy.
Oh yes. OK. And we already have the finished product going, but let's get cooking.
So what's in the pot right now? First, we have butter. OK.
Lots of butter, lots of butter and then we're gonna go
all the marshmallows,
marshmallows.
This is something I feel like I could even make. This is
easy.
Ok.
Vanilla.
Oh
Any special vanilla or what are we doing with the heat too? Like is this on low?
Uh We cook everything pretty quick because we're always in a hurry, you know.
So basically you're just melting it. Ok.
And about how long does it usually take for melting everything?
Four or five minutes. OK.
And what, how much are we gonna get with what you have in here? Like how many trees?
How many of these big guys? Eight.
So all of this for just eight. OK.
Love that smells already. Absolutely delicious. This is so popular.
Why do you think that is?
I think it's just nostalgia.
You know, it's kind of like a weird salty sweet combination.
People like potato chips, people like snacks. So
I love it.
Have you ever done it with different flavors of potato chips or other chips?
Like are we doing a Doritos one in our future?
That one over there? It's got some pretzels in it.
Doritos. I haven't got that far yet. Ok. Maybe, maybe I hope you then. Ok.
Um tell me about Little Jay for someone that hasn't heard of you guys.
So we're brand new three weeks in
um
so yeah, we're like a little coffee shop, cafe bakery,
you know, we have lunch program too
and uh we're in South Park.
So
kind of a,
you know, a little bit of a neighborhood that
was needed it.
I love it.
How do you come up with all of these incredible delicious
recipes that I cannot wait to try in a little bit?
But where does that come from? Just your brain?
Yeah, I mean, I think it comes from childhood, you know, just trying to be fun,
give somebody, you know, give people
things that they, they recognize you know, it's like I'm not trying to be
but we're not grandma food.
That's kind of what we make.
I love that so much. And how did you get into cooking?
Where does this passion come from? I've been cooking
mostly savory stuff for 30 years,
you know, but this,
we've been doing this for about six months, six months. And why the switch to sweets?
You just wanted to try something new?
OK, I love it. Always, always evolving.
What are
we, what is it ready for the chips? Now? Are we? I mean,
looking, you would melt it more,
it would melt it a little more. OK.
And two bags of potato chips or how much is going on there?
Three bags of potato chips for 80 my gosh. OK.
And what else over here too while we're waiting for that to be done?
Have you brought here? I mean we've mentioned some things with pretzels but we have
Smores.
This is double stuffed Oreo chocolate chip
monster cookie, Sprinkle cookie,
apricot biscuit, ham and cheese biscuit,
pecan cake, espresso cake. Oh my Lord. OK. I wanna try one.
Where do you think I should go choose your own adventure?
I like the monster Cookie, the monster Cookie wood from this big one M and M the M and M.
Oh OK. Tell me again. What's in the monster Cookie
Butterfingers. Reese's Peanut butter cups, M and M's oatmeal
peanut butter.
Oh my God.
It's so healthy. It's just screaming.
No calories. Right.
Oh my gosh. This is absolutely phenomenal.
I don't even know what to say. This is absolutely delicious. Ok.
I'm gonna keep trying.
As you're, as you're cooking away, you're doing all the work and I'm just tasting.
I know. Should I, should I try the finished product?
00 my Lord. This is absolutely massive. Do you guys see the marshmallow
goodness in that. Holy smokes
so good. I apologize in advance for this. A Smr crunch.
There's no, there's no pretty way of doing it. There's no
way.
Oh my God.
That is absolutely fantastic. Ok. It's going in the mothership.
Oh,
ok.
I was a little worried about the ruffles potato chips. I thought it would be like
too much because I love rice Krispies. But that is amazing.
That is the perfect amount of savory
and sweet. It might be a little much to eat all of it.
But
you don't know me.
You can
share
it. You can share it. You can
no
sharing. Absolutely not.
That is absolutely amazing.
OK. What is your technique for stirring? Is, is there anything I need to know? You can
tell
it
from the bottom? Ok. Scoop from the bottom. We're using a big pot. So it's easier.
Yeah. Get a big pot, I guess. Is it tip number two there? Yeah.
And how do you form this brick when it's done? Are you gonna be able to show us or?
Is it gonna be too hot?
Uh I don't know if I'm gonna do that step. It's pretty a messy step.
But yeah, you just put it into a pan.
Spray the pan.
Ok.
Pack a damn.
And how long are you
letting it cool or anything? That
one needs to know for the next steps? Uh,
probably about half an hour. Ok.
And if someone's visiting lady J Little Jay coming up,
what are some other things on the menu? We're talking about savory. So
we have breakfast sandwiches. What are some of your favorites?
Uh We have one that we call the Smash switch, which
is hash brown.
Yeah,
soft bun.
We have a ham and cheese one. We have a vegetarian option
and then we have a lunch.
Oh my gosh. What are your hours? So people can come and visit you? 7 to 3,
Monday through Saturday.
Oh, my gosh. Absolutely amazing. Thank you so much, Chef Charlie.
This smells absolutely incredible.
I'm taking all these treats with me. Um Please don't take them with you because
I need them. It's like I'm not taking them.
Thank you so so much. That was amazing.
So obviously you can see more of that yummy food on King five
evening as they're hosting their show from Little J this Wednesday night.